Understanding Family Law: An Overview of Assistance Networks
What are Family Law Networks
Family law assistance networks can provide individuals with access to a variety of resources related to divorces, property settlements, separation, child custody and contact, spousal maintenance, de facto relationships, and other family-related issues. They can be helpful in putting individuals in contact with the right professionals, over a wide range of specialties, help them with finding information about what resources are available, and may assist with referrals from professionals to specialists with a particular background .
Family law assistance networks may include legal practitioners (of various areas), mediators and arbitration services, financial advisors and planners, financial assistance programs, psychologists and counselors, social workers, community support services, government provided support services, information services, academic services, and other service providers.
Whether they be based in the physical world or be online (assistance also comes in the form of websites), it is probable that individuals dealing with family law issues will be recommended, or themselves search out, a family law assistance network to help them.
Types of Services Offered by Family Law Networks
Family law assistance networks are dedicated to providing individuals and families with expert legal representation in resolving family disputes. In addition to direct legal representation, many family assistance networks offer mediation services as a cost-effective and efficient means of resolving conflict involving minors in the family. During mediation, both parties meet with an attorney-neutral party to discuss the issues involved in their case. Mediation services may provide recommendations for child custody and visitation arrangements, temporary child support, and spousal maintenance. The mediator seeks to solve the family law issue collaboratively in an effort to eliminate the time-consuming components of litigation. When collaboration is deemed ineffective, family law assistance networks offer effective in-house legal representation.
How to Access Family Law Assistance Networks
Beyond the traditional private retainer, there are various ways to access and tap into family law assistance networks. On the one hand, the formerly uncoordinated "pocket" of pro bono and low bono organizations providing family law assistance has evolved into a near-systematic coordinated network in New York City. Through a unique collaboration among legal services providers and in partnership with the NYS Unified Court System Access to Justice Committee (ATJ) and the Office of Alternate Dispute Resolution and Conflict Resolution Services, the project aims to ensure that all parties facing the Court without a lawyer have access to pro bono and low bono resources to represent them if they so choose.
On the other hand are those delivery systems among which pro bono and low bono components can be included. One such example is the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation Treatment Court program in the Bronx aimed at "improving the judicial process and settlement for litigants and witnesses with respect to juvenile-delinquency cases and child protection cases" by "resolving some or all issues related to a case before it enters Family Court." Providing individual case mediation and group mediation for multiple cases will hopefully "reduce the burden on the court" in the Bronx.
Indeed, many such projects exist, but they will only be successful if capacity increases through new legal aid funding. The community needs are well-known; however systems of delivery must be adjusted accordingly to meet the gaps. I’ve frequently noted the proclivity of legislative committees to propose new family law caseloads for the court when other solutions are available, so long as there’s legal aid and legal services funding for it.
Advantages of Assistance Networks for Family Law
Family law assistance networks can present several benefits to those who may otherwise be unable to afford legal help. Chief among these is the cost savings. Many family law courts in large cities and counties across the country operate on a sliding-scale basis for income-eligible clients. By agreeing to accept all cases in the local area, these non-profit legal services provide fees based on the median income of the community. This can lead to massive savings around the country. For instance, a project in Pierce County, Washington reduced fees for attorneys who serve clients through the program by 92 percent in the span of just three years.
Not only is the sliding fee scale helpful to those who have limited budgets, but many family law assistance networks also allow clients to return to the same attorney for a "reasonable" fee. This makes it possible to build a relationship with a specific lawyer, rather than having to start from scratch with someone new during every court appearance. This leads to a more productive dialogue with the judge, and better outcomes overall.
Access is key in any legal situation, and family law networks often help bolster this access. Many provide a network of paralegals and legal assistants who can answer questions and sort through forms. Some have their own divorce forms that can be filled out and used, cutting back on time and effort spent on paperwork. While self-represented litigants often struggle to move through the steps of family court action, assistance networks make the process that much easier.
Finally, family law assistance networks have experts in the field of child custody, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements, and more. These specialists can build strategies to successfully navigate complex family law issues. Educated guidance can be the most helpful thing you can have when preparing to litigate a family issue, and assistance networks have the knowledge you need.
Challenges Faced by Assistance Networks in Family Law
With the increasing prevalence of assistance networks facilitating access to justice, the corresponding challenges faced by individuals and their supporters in respect of their ability to identify, access, afford and understand these services has been brought to light. These challenges unfortunately extend to both advocates and users of these networks. Such challenges include: Service providers are cognisant that limitations often exist as to the resources available to the individuals whom they may seek to assist. In addressing the supply side challenge of limited family law access to justice services , service providers have formed networks. Each of these networks operates differently, and overall serve to avoid duplication of services and to help to ensure that clients have an effective and efficient journey in accessing legal services. Such avoidance of duplication of services is essential in a landscape, where already very limited family law advice and representation services are available to the low and middle income population seeking to navigate the legal system. Such limitation of available resources is no doubt a significant challenge to those providing services, to those attempting to navigate the legal system, and to those with whom they are connected.
Successful Outcomes from Family Law Assistance
Just as in other areas of service, the value of an individual success story or a shared anecdote by a satisfied client cannot be overestimated. To borrow from the old adage, we too often fail to share the "successes" while only focusing on the "failures." However, a few words from those who have actually taken that leap of faith and sought assistance, can go a long way to convince a reluctant individual that even the most demanding, intrusive and significant family law cases may be successfully steered through with the help of an individual or group of "assistants." Victims need to know, especially in this day of "vicarious trauma" that they are not alone, that others have well understood the risk of danger or harm and have benefited or enjoyed a better life for having taken "the road less traveled." While not every family law situation can or will have a successful resolution, there are countless individuals in every community willing to step in and provide assistance to families who find themselves in almost impossible circumstances.
Once again, these clients are not limited to anyone individual, group or organizations. Within every community, clients will come from numerous sources such as:
Family members and friends; Past and present employer; Clergy/Religious Affiliates and Programs; Community and Civic Organizations; School/School Districts; Law Enforcement Agencies; and Social Services Agencies.
However, at the end of the day it is the clients, who have individually and collectively "made it" (which is an entire topic on its own), that most inspire the creation of these groups and resources. These individuals have learned to face their fears, accept their feelings, endure the short term pain and move forward in life successfully. These most often silent heroes truly "make a difference" in so many other lives as they have learned to "make that difference" in their own.
While every one will have their own story, the following is just one of those stories.
I was blown away by the amount of support offered to me and my son. I recently moved out and had no idea I would face such a rough situation. The people I met were amazing and so supportive. It was the first time my son and I have been away from the "abuse" ever since I began having him so he was terrified. Even the lady at the front desk was very supportive and helpful. The lady that spoke first offered me resources and was very caring. It felt safe, not only for my son but me as well. I am saddened that violence is so high in our nation. But, I am grateful groups like this exist. I felt like a person that was important and that someone cared about our future. Thank you for providing your services in the community.
Future Directions for Family Law Assistance Networks
As technology continues to transform industries nationwide, so too will family law evolve. In the near future, practitioners will be better able to serve their clients through increased emphasis on technologic platforms, online services, and additional attorneys and other professionals to address specific areas of practice that complement the work of a divorce or family law attorney. A hallmark of such efforts is focusing on the reduction of costs associated with divorce by offering online, tech-based divorce solutions as an alternative to the traditional lawyer-assisted approach. Many online solutions focus only on the legal forms to be created and submitted to the court, whereas there is an emerging trend for online divorce assistance to be strengthened by providing family law practitioners the necessary tools to help the pro se litigant navigate the complexities of a divorce that cannot be reduced to mere court filings and signatures. Additionally, family law arbitrators and mediation services will play a more prominent role in family law, and the broader legal profession, in the years to come. Such individuals will offer alternatives to both traditional family law methods, as well as online services, which will allow the parties to work through their differences and resolve their issues through a neutral representative.
Concluding Thoughts on Family Law and Assistance Networks
Equity remains a key issue in the provision of legal services and particularly so in the area of family law. The distinctions between those who are able to afford the assistance of a lawyer and those who are not, are sharply delineated. As lawyers often have the self-impression as being advocates for those who are unable to secure legal assistance, it is an unfortunate truth that lawyers are of limited availability to serve the needs of all families who seek fair access to justice through assistance by an experienced family law lawyer.
Law centres and legal clinics have strategically been positioned to fill in this gap for decades, and they continue to do so, but as demand continues to expand in ways that none of us had imagined, the work of non-profit family law representatives has been recognized as a critical component in our overall family law response – a response that must continuously evolve to meet the needs of those we seek to serve. There is no doubt that networking between different organizations, different service lines and even different regions, makes all of our work much more efficient and ultimately much more valuable to the clients who continue to need us.
For many, the family law response is still what we did 20 years ago – there is a lawyer, a paralegal or a community agency that provides family law assistance from beginning to end . But as the system grew, formalizing networks became necessary to support the entire system and to ensure that we are each aware of our own limitations, the reality of our specific areas of service, and the needs of our communities. Now, when one organization is contacted, they understand that they are part of a greater network and are therefore more likely to be able to quickly and effectively redirect or assist a caller in identifying the best path for their needs. We are connected, and with the increasing ability to communicate using technology platforms, we can be strategic in navigating our contacts to ensure appropriate access to assistance.
Family law continues to change. This area of law, law delivery and available social services for families are evolving in ways that require us to work in ways that allow us to identify the most appropriate resources for our clients in quick and creative ways. Responding to the needs of an organization with a similar purpose in a different region of the province, allows us to facilitate positive and strategic advancements in our own region that lasts beyond current funding. Recognizing the value of emerging organizations, young lawyers and law students, and engaging with them to identify opportunities helps us to build a systematized response to help everyone that is required to do so.