FLS Breakfast Meetings: Judges Applaud Family Law Section Bridge between Bench and Bar
Recaps of the March and April breakfast meetings.
DeKalb Superior Court Judge Cynthia J. Becker
“Hallelujah!” Chief Judge Cynthia J. Becker exclaimed in reference to the formation of the Family Law Section of the DeKalb County Bar Association while recently addressing the section at the monthly breakfast. Her enthusiasm is shared by others on the Bench, including Judge Gregory A. Adams, who also recently spoke to the section. Since its formation less than a year ago, the section has realized its goal of providing a bridge between the Bench and the Bar in DeKalb, thanks in great part to the enthusiasm and support of the chief judge and the other nine superior court judges.
In his breakfast address in March, Judge Adams emphasized the Bench – particularly Division 5 – and the Bar working together to improve the services his division delivers. He welcomed input from the Bar and provided practice tips to assist in more effectively representing clients in Division 5. His main practice point: Be On Time. He starts his calendar on time and expects lawyers to be on time. He observed that he has always been conscious of time allotments, both as a public servant in practice (he was a state prosecutor before joining the Bench) and now as a judge. He emphasized his respect for the time of lawyers, clients and witnesses and his desire for efficient resolution of cases, but that efficiency requires lawyers to be honest about time announcements and prepared by pre-marking exhibits and submitting proposed orders in paper and electronic forms, as examples.
Judge Adams also reminded us that to reach resolution of a case, lawyers should be prepared to stay late if needed. His day does not end until midnight, he stated, and if necessary, he will keep his court open to resolve the outstanding issues in a family dispute. He also informed us that he does not hold pretrial conferences in Division 5: everything is before the Court, but he will call counsel to the bench when necessary. He pointedly emphasized that he never meets with a child alone and welcomes the use of guardians ad litem in custody disputes. He also stated his belief that awards of attorney fees level the playing field in domestic cases and that he will award fees where warranted. In closing, Judge Adams noted that contempt actions have become more frequent in this economic environment, and he will issue jail time for failure to abide by his orders – although he does provide “free ground transportation by the sheriff” to the jail!
In her April address to the section, Chief Judge Becker expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the DeKalb lawyers who assisted in addressing the proposed county and state judicial budget cuts. She was pleased to report that the campaign by the Bench and the Bar was successful in keeping funding in place so that our courts could remain effective and in compliance with the law. She stressed that funding issues are particularly important to the Domestic Bar because family law, in her opinion, is affected most acutely by the economy. Once a divorce is over, she observed, the family still exists, and if the family has not come to grips with the decisions made in the divorce action, the family inevitably will be back in court. Judge Becker likened recurrent contempt actions and modifications to the situation of recidivist criminals and noted that as a collective Bench and Bar, we need to incubate the recidivist family law litigant. She opined that instead of creating problems by more litigation that further exacerbates the family dynamic, family members – especially pro se litigants – should participate in alternative dispute resolution. After praising the DeKalb Family Law Information Center, Judge Becker then identified a need for a mediation group to assist pro se litigants with understanding the benefits of using the successful DeKalb Alternative Dispute Resolution Center.
The Family Law Section thanks Judge Adams, Chief Judge Becker, and all the DeKalb Superior Court judges for their time and participation with the section this year, especially with the breakfasts, and we encourage their continued involvement. In honor of our DeKalb judges, and in conjunction with the Atlanta Bar Family Law Section, we welcomed members of the DeKalb Bench and Bar to Parker’s on Ponce, Wednesday, April 28, to honor our judges and the Fulton County Family Court Bench.
The Family Law Section breakfast meetings are held the first Thursday of every month in the Harrison Room at the historic Old Courthouse in downtown Decatur. All are welcome.