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Posts Tagged ‘Appointment’

Congratulations to Linda Maslow, 11th Librarian of the Supreme Court of the United States

23 Jan

Last week SCOTUS announced the appointment of the Court’s 11th Librarian, Linda Maslow, to replace Judy Gaskell, who retired in September, 2011. Maslow has had a long and distinguished career at the Supreme Court’s library. Quoting from the Jan. 17,…

 

New Academic Law Library Directorship Appointments: Vicki Szymczak (Hawaii) and Teresa Stanton (Florida International)

11 Jul

Vicki Szmczak, Library Director at Brooklyn Law (and long-time LLB contributing editor) has accepted a faculty appointment at the Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii, and will serve as the Law School’s library director. Vicki will be making the…

 

Should I ask my friend for advice about my divorce?

04 Mar

Should I change my hair? What car should I buy? What movie should I go see this weekend? What gym should I join? What should I do about this issue I’m having at work?

We seek advice from our friends and family to learn how to approach a new situation. Our goal is to go from knowing “nothing” to knowing “something.” And who better to prepare us for this than a group of people we already know and trust?

I know I have a group of friends I lean on for advice. But there are some situations when one needs to evaluate if our friends are the appropriate and qualified source of information about important life issues that vary from person to person, based on their own experience.

Take divorce for example. 

Why should I be careful when seeking a friend’s advice about divorce?

Author Susan Pease Gadoua wrote a great article on this subject titled, Beware When Seeking A Friend’s Advice About Divorce, for the Huffington Post. She says that you shouldn’t learn about divorce from someone like a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker, and this group of people alone. They should not be your only source for learning about everything that can happen as you move through the often-confusing legal process.

Gadoua cites three main reasons to support her claim:

  1. You are learning about divorce through someone who may not fully understand what happened or why.
  2. Your friend/acquaintance may not tell you about special circumstances in his case that may have influenced a particular outcome.
  3. Everything about you and your case is different from anyone else’s case or circumstances.

Everyone reaches out to his or her network to seek advice and learn from the experiences of their peers. That’s okay. But your peers’ lives and situations are completely different from what you are going through right now.

For example, if you are reading this, you are considering or have already decided to represent yourself and are looking for ways to “do-it-yourself” and learn how to do it right. You know that you need help and are looking to team up with someone to get the help you need, when you need it.

How can I learn more about divorce, if not from my friends?

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ask your friends for advice about what they went through with their divorce, but keep in mind that what they are telling you is different from your situation and there are details they may be omitting from the story that you’re unaware of.

So what can you do to learn more about the divorce and legal process? I recommend that you learn as much as you can, and books by accredited lawyers are a great resource. Here are a few to get you started:

Once you have educated yourself as much as you can, build the list of questions that those books have not answered and schedule an appointment with a professional who knows the intricacies of the law specific to the court system where you live.

We are here to help – you can sign up for the next free 30-minute Attorney Appointment, register for a Pro Se University Workshop, or look into other services that match what you’re looking for.

Just because you don’t know what you don’t know, doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.

 
 

How Will Looming Budget Cuts Threaten My Family Law Case?

13 Dec

In November, King County voters rejected Proposition 1, which would have authorized an increase in the King County sales tax to fund criminal justice, fire protection, and other government functions, one of which would be to invest in kids and families. Because of the budget shortfall, come January, one cut will include eliminating nearly the entire Family Court Services program and Family Law Facilitators who assist more than 10,000 clients a year.

What do these cuts mean for my family law case?

Family Court Services is a program in the King County Superior Court that is staffed by social workers who specialize in assisting with family law issues. They help the court during a family law issue to promote the outcome that will benefit the children and the family as a whole.

Family Law Facilitators provide information and referrals to family law litigants who are not represented by attorneys. This means you, if you are a Pro Se party. 

Without these programs, people will be without the county-provided resources they may need to navigate through their family law issue.

Luckily, Pro Se University offers two services that can help you:

Workshops are an affordable way to help you with a specific family law issue. They are perfect for people who know what paperwork they need to fill out, but need help with the details. At each workshop, expect to walk out with a completed document that is ready to be filed. We offer a variety of workshops most days of the week. You can check out our workshop schedule and sign up here.

Attorney Appointments are ideal for you if you need individual legal advice and coaching on how to manage your case or if you need help with a specific issue. These appointments are ideal for people who need more personalized information about their family law issue than a workshop will provide.

Attorney Appointments are more expensive than workshops. However, Pro Se University is offering a free 30-minute Attorney Appointment for any family law issue on Tuesday, December 14 and the next one is Tuesday, January 25, 2011. This is a great opportunity to get personal information about your case from the experienced family lawyers on our team. 

If you are interested in a free 30-minute Attorney Appointment, you can sign up here. Or call Xenia at 877-776-7310 to schedule an individualized appointment and learn more about our workshops.