Custody Conciliation Project offers volunteers an opportunity to use negotiation
skills to help settle custody disputes
By Lisa M. Wolfe
For The Lawyers Journal
July 20, 2007—Attorneys looking for an opportunity to provide worthwhile pro bono services to deserving clients without committing to a long term representation should look no further. The Custody Conciliation Project, a collaboration between the Pro Bono Center, the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership and the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, provides such an opportunity. The project, which is administered by Eckert Seamans Cherin Mellott, was launched in November, but has only recently become fully active.
Allegheny County is no different than the rest of the country when it comes to trying to meet the huge need for attorneys to volunteer their time to assist the indigent in family law matters. There simply are not enough family law attorneys to meet that need, making it necessary to find a way to train non-family law attorneys to assist in this area. In an effort to resolve this problem, Lorrie Albert, Allegheny County Bar Foundation Pro Bono Coordinator, held a focus group meeting with Administrative Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, Court Administrator Cynthia Stoltz, Barbara Kern from Neighborhood Legal Services Association, Amy Ross, the Custody Department Manager, and other key family law attorneys to discuss what could be done to combat the lack of pro bono family law assistance.
“We were looking for a project with limited representation so that non-family law attorneys could feel comfortable handling a case in this area,” said Albert. “Custody conciliation fits this criteria because it is a limited representation and takes four to five hours from start to finish in most instances.”
A custody conciliation is a generally a last ditch effort for parties settle their custody dispute before the case really begins to engage in litigation. With the Custody Conciliation Project, once the conciliation is completed, the attorney’s role in the case is finished.
Albert said that this was designed as a Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership signature project which usually consists of projects where two of the partnership’s 25 member firms and corporation legal departments join efforts to participate in a pro bono project. This signature project is different from the others because all 25 member firms and corporations are providing attorneys to the program. Each firm or corporate legal department is able to designate a point person to work with Rachel Klink, the Eckert Seamans paralegal who is administering the program.
“I’ve been an attorney with Eckert for four years, and I’ve been active with the Partnership board for the past two years,” said Sarah Shannon, an attorney with Eckert Seamans. “We had never done a signature project before, a new pro bono initiative. The Custody Conciliation Project seemed perfect for us. This is a partnership-wide opportunity for attorneys who want to be involved with the program.”:
Klink said that as of late June, there were about 55 attorneys actively taking referrals for cases. The project has been receiving more requests for cases than can be assigned out and as word of the project spreads, the number of requests for assistance has been steadily increasing.
Stoltz and Amy Ross, the Children’s Court Custody Department manager, said that they believe having an attorney present for the conciliation helps the parties to work together, compromise, and focus on the best interests of their children. Ross said that the volunteer attorney is able to be supportive, encourage realistic outcomes, and negotiate custody issues. This helps to minimize the emotional trauma to the parties involved and increases the success rates for the conciliations.
Klink reported that approximately 80 percent of volunteers have reported leaving their conciliation with a consent order.
Shannon stressed that the success rate is the result of the work of attorneys from all backgrounds, not strictly from attorneys with a background in family law.
“At our training the other day, a gentleman was very excited at the prospect of being able to take his years of experience as an attorney who had honed his negotiation skills and apply those skills to a new setting. That is the attitude we want all of our attorneys to have. This is a project that is very doable.”
Keenan Holmes, a first year attorney in the labor & employment division of Eckert Seamans, has volunteered for six custody conciliation cases in the past few months. He said that the experience he has gained through the project has been invaluable to him.
“As a young associate, you’re not given the opportunity to talk to clients right off the bat. This was a great way to get experience thinking on my feet. The experience component has been great for me,” said Holmes. “I’m also personally passionate about community service. This project is a great service for those who can’t necessarily afford an attorney. I almost see pro bono work as an obligation.”
Shannon received a 2007 Pro Bono Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association for her work in developing and implementing the Custody Conciliation Project.
“Winning the PBA Pro Bono Award felt great,” said Shannon. “The award was not about me. It was about the project and all the people committed to it on a regular basis, including Rachel. The award is a great thing that honors the program.”
“We service anyone,” she said. “If they are willing to come into a church building, we’ll help them.”
“Another positive to the program is that there is a real feeling of satisfaction at the end of a conciliation. In two out of three cases, you walk out, your client is satisfied with the result, and you have a signed court order. More often than not, you’re really able to effect change for your client, especially when there’s an attorney on the other side.”