My newest mentee, Audrey R. Brown, has her website up here. Audrey is a graduate of George Mason University School of Law and an avid roller derby enthusiast–and a member of the Lowcountry Highrollers (she’s currently in the recreational league as she concentrates on developing her law practice). Her practice focuses on family law and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Guardian ad litem’
News and events
Posted Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Continuing Legal Education, Miscellaneous, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
4 Comments »
Tags: Audrey R. Brown, Continuing Legal Education, Guardian ad litem, Jenny R. Stevens, Linda Hayes, Natalie Bluestein
Posted in Continuing Legal Education, Miscellaneous, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific | 4 Comments »
When a child’s mental health professional makes a guardian ad litem unnecessary
Posted Thursday, January 17th, 2013 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
2 Comments »
South Carolina Code §63-3-810(A)(1) allows the family court to appoint a guardian ad litem in a private custody case when “without a guardian ad litem, the court will likely not be fully informed about the facts of the case and there is a substantial dispute which necessitates a guardian ad litem.” Thus attorneys routinely consent [...]
Tags: Child Custody, Guardian ad litem, Litigation Strategy
Posted in Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys | 2 Comments »
Impeaching a guardian ad litem who’s gone (too) rogue
Posted Saturday, October 6th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
2 Comments »
Twenty years experience shows that there’s some validity to Robert Rosen’s jaundiced view of guardians ad litem in private custody cases, best expressed by the title of one of his articles for South Carolina Lawyer: “Getting Rid of the GAL: How to Save Your Client from Those Expensive, Unnecessary Officious Intermeddlers.” As Rosen’s article notes: [...]
Tags: Child Custody, Guardian ad litem, Litigation Strategy, Robert Rosen
Posted in Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys | 2 Comments »
Caught in a circular firing squad
Posted Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Family Court Procedure, Guardians Ad Litem, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
8 Comments »
I have increasingly come to the conclusion that being a guardian ad litem in South Carolina for private custody cases is an impossible task if one is going to do it well. The system, as currently constituted, weeds out good guardians while leaving the ineffectual and milquetoast in place. The work has become so distasteful [...]
Tags: Child Custody, Family Court Procedure, Guardian ad litem
Posted in Child Custody, Family Court Procedure, Guardians Ad Litem, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys | 8 Comments »
Shameless self-promotion
Posted Monday, January 16th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Continuing Legal Education, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
No Comments »
I will be speaking at two upcoming Continuing Legal Education programs. On January 27, 2012 I will be moderating and speaking at the South Carolina Bar’s annual guardian ad litem training in Columbia (and via satellite at various locations throughout the state). My topic will be “Religion as a Child Custody Issue.” The other topics [...]
Tags: Guardian ad litem, National Business Institute, South Carolina Bar
Posted in Continuing Legal Education, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific | No Comments »
Playing the jerk to encourage dispute resolution
Posted Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
1 Comment »
Sometimes a guardian ad litem can assist resolution of a custody dispute by doing things that initially make the parents unhappy. This won’t render the guardian popular but it will render the guardian effective. This approach helped me resolve a 2 ½ year custody dispute earlier this week. Immediately upon my appointment I did a [...]
Tags: Guardian ad litem, Litigation Strategy
Posted in Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys | 1 Comment »
Guardian ad litem training: past, present and future
Posted Friday, January 14th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Miscellaneous, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
3 Comments »
On January 28, 2011, I will be moderating and speaking at the South Carolina Bar’s annual guardian ad litem training. This will be the third consecutive year I’ve done this (the second year for the state bar) and I will be organizing and moderating the training for the South Carolina Bar for 2012–tentatively set for [...]
Tags: Continuing Legal Education, Guardian ad litem
Posted in Miscellaneous, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific | 3 Comments »
An unanticipated use for the guardian ad litem’s periodic billing statements
Posted Friday, October 8th, 2010 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
1 Comment »
As part of the private guardian ad litem statute, “[t]he guardian ad litem must submit an itemized billing statement of hours, expenses, costs, and fees to the parties and their attorneys pursuant to a schedule as directed by the court.” S.C. § 63-3-850(C). In my experience, South Carolina family judges are requiring guardians to provide [...]
Tags: child cust, Guardian ad litem, Litigation Strategy
Posted in Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific | 1 Comment »