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Spring / Summer ‘04

Professor Linda Elrod

Excellence

CENTERS of

The Washburn Law Children and Family LawCenter offered law students a variety of oppor-tunities to learn about and become involved infamily law activities. In March, Washburn’sChildren and Family Law Center explored pub-lic policy issues relating to families and chil-dren. Professor Lynette Petty coordinated andmoderated a program entitled “Privatization ofChild Welfare: Reflections on Change andProspects for the Future.” National and stateexperts joined with Kansas judges, administra-tors and lawmakers to explore the reasons andramifications of privatization. MadelynFreundlich, the Policy Director at Children’sRights, Inc. in New York City, was the keynotespeaker. Being both a social worker and alawyer who worked as General Counsel for theChild Welfare League of America, she dis-cussed what was happening at the nationallevel, focusing on the impact of welfare reformon foster care and adoption. Dr. NancyMcCarthy Snyder from Wichita spoke on theresearch she has been doing on policy, man -agement, finance and contract issues related toprivatization of child welfare in Kansas. Otherpresenters included Sarah Sargent, an attor-ney with the Kansas Children’s ServiceLeague; Roberta Sue McKenna ‘75, AssistantDirector of Child Welfare for the Departmentof Social and Rehabilitative Services; TheHonorable Dan Mitchell ‘73, Shawnee CountyDistrict Court Judge; The Honorable JeanShepard, Douglas County District CourtJudge; Kevin Cook ‘99, a criminal defenseattorney who has served as a guardian adlitem in Shawnee County since 2000; SheriLove, President of Permanency Division forKaw Valley Center Behavioral Health Care;and Mike Patrick, Executive Vice Presidentand Chief Operations Officer for The Farm,Inc.

Continuing the tradition started last year ofinviting alumni and other distinguished gueststo make lunch hour presentations, the Centerstarted in January by having Linda Pease,Topeka CASA (Court Appointed SpecialAdvocates) program, speak to the Family LawStudent Society about upcoming opportunitiesfor law students to get involved with CASAtraining. Several Washburn Law students cur-rently serve as CASAs in Shawnee County.

The Center hopes to encourage additionaltraining for CASA in the fall.

In Februar y, Professor Nancy Maxwell spoketo the Family Law Student Society about theprocess of harmonization of family law that isoccurring in the European Union. Her articleabout the United States experience with harmonization of family law was published in Perspectives on the Unification andHarmonization of the Family Law In Europe in 2003.

In early March, The Honorable Dan Mitchell‘73 spoke about the importance of the juvenilecourt and the roles of the judges, lawyers andCASAs in helping children in need of care andjuvenile offenders. Later that month, AntwauJones and Rhonda Lomas explained their NewBeginnings Foundation to house and help fos-ter children. Law students learned how to setup a non-profit foster care facility.

Family Law Student Society members hadthree opportunities in April to learn about dif-ferent aspects of family law. Ian Sumner,Visiting Scholar from the University of Utrechtin the Netherlands, explained the Europeanapproach to same sex relationships. He dis-cussed distinctions being made in theEuropean Union countries between civilunions, registered partnerships and same sexmarriages. Another speaker, Dr. Bud Dale, alicensed psychologist and custody evaluator,formerly with Menninger Foundation, dis-cussed the role of psychologists in high conflictcases. He presented the mental health profes-sional’s view of the “best interests of the child.”

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On April 21st, Douglas Fincher ’98 talkedabout the complexities of the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act of 1974(ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of1986 and preemption issues. He provided stu-dents and faculty with a comprehensiveoverview on the use of Qualified DomesticRelations Orders (QDROs) in divorce cases.

The Children and Family Law Center cospon-sored several continuing legal education pro-grams that students had the opportunity toattend. Nine students participated in a pro-gram the Center cosponsored with theHeartland Mediator’s Association on TheCutting Edge of Child of Family Mediation onFebruary 21st in Topeka. Professor LindaElrod presented on “Mediating Family LawCases Using the new Kansas Child SupportGuidelines - Administrative Order # 180."Other topics included parent-adolescent medi -ation, working with case managers and mediat-ing cases with the elderly.

The Children and Family Law Center cospon-sored with the Wichita Bar Association a well-attended program on High Conflict CustodyCases in early Januar y. Lynn Ward ‘90 ofMorris, Laing et al. served as moderator.Professor Linda Elrod defined high conflictand discussed approaches being taken acrossthe country for either reducing the conflict ordealing with high conflict litigants. ProfessorSheila Reynolds explored the ethical issuesthat arise for lawyers representing high con-flict clients. Dr. Bernard Mayer, the Center forDispute Resolution in Denver, revealed var y-ing approaches for mediating with high con-flict families; Dr. Bud Bryant, a Wichita clinicalpsychologist, talked about parental alienationissues; and Larry Rute ‘73, Associates in

Doug Fincher ‘98

Dispute Resolution, explained the cur rentmove nationally toward collaborative law.

In March, the Children and Family Law Centeragain took the lead in trying to introduce col-laborative law concepts to Kansas lawyers.Working with the Family Law Section of theKansas Trial Lawyers’ Association, the Centercosponsored a two-day Collaborative Law train-ing March 25-26th. Sherri Goren Slovin, afamily lawyer from Cincinnati, Ohio, who haspracticed for over twenty years and is one ofthe main trainers around the country, conduct-ed the training which consisted of lectures,role plays, ethics and simulations. Twenty-onelawyers, two law professors and one law stu-dent participated in the two-day training.

The Washburn Law Clinic continues to offerstudents “hands on” experience with familylaw cases and live clients. In addition, morethan fifteen students served as staff for the

Family Law Quarterly, a publication of theAmerican Bar Association Family Law Section,which is edited at Washburn. The fall semes-ter will bring more activities for the FamilyLaw Student Society and the Center as it spon-sors the annual Family Law Institute and pro-vides increasing opportunities for alumni, fac-ulty and student interactions.

To learn more about the Center or to volunteer tomentor students with a focus on the family law areaof practice, please contact Director, ProfessorLinda Elrod, at linda.elrod@washburn.edu.

The Honorable Daniel L. Mitchell ‘73

The Washburn Lawyer