News & Updates

In a recent article in The Colorado Lawyer, Judge Elizabeth Starrs gives practitioners insight from the bench, including helpful practice tips and an explanation of the Denver domestic relations process. Many of her observations suggest the benefits of a structured, in-court process for domestic relations disputes, with an emphasis on decreasing the adversarial nature of the proceedings—an approach also advocated by the Honoring Families Initiative.

This summer, the Brooklyn Family Court Child Support Study hopes to improve the quality of legal assistance to self-represented litigants in child custody proceedings. Observers will track whether magistrates explain to self-represented litigants the reason for the hearings, explain the courtroom proceedings, and/or exhibit irritation with the litigants. Then, the observers will follow up with the litigants in a brief interview to discern whether the litigants found the proceeding to be fair and whether they understood what took place in the courtroom.

A one-day divorce program that launched this spring in the Sacramento Superior Court is streamlining the process for self-represented litigants who have filed a dissolution of marriage case before the Court and are ready for a final judgment. According to the court, law students are playing “a vital role” in the success of the program, meeting with litigants and gathering intake data; the program is also benefiting from the assistance of volunteer attorneys who serve as Judges Pro Tem.