Attendees at the “Ask The Lawyer” seminar by the Genesee County Bar Association listen as Shari Baran talks. Attorneys Ronald Naldy and Terry Bankert await their turn at the podium.
By Paul Janczewski
Legal News
Once a year was just not enough.
That’s what officials of the Genesee County Bar Association learned following Law Day activities in 2008. For that year, and the previous two, the county bar had put on a legal seminar in conjunction with the event. It was free and open to the public, and gave citizens an opportunity to question attorneys about different aspects of the law.
But it was only once a year, and barely scratched the surface of the myriad of legal problems facing Genesee County citizens. Too many people were asking too many questions about too many legal issues to adequately satisfy everyone.
So the GCBA did something about it.
“We saw the response from the community about holding more events like this, and we extended it to a monthly program,” said Tatilia “Tina” Burroughs, executive director of both the GCBA and the Genesee County Bar Foundation.
And the popular “Ask the Lawyer” free community seminar was born, in January 2009.
“And it proved to be so popular, we’ve continued it each year,” Burroughs said. Generally, about nine sessions are held yearly during the winter and spring.
The program is coordinated through the efforts of the attorneys of the GCBA, who volunteer their professional skills; the cooperation of the Flint Public Library, which hosts the events; and Legal Services of Eastern Michigan. Assists come from the GCBA Law Committee, and funding comes from a GCBF grant.
Burroughs said this is just another way the attorneys of Genesee County give back to the public. She said the GCBA exists to not only serve the professional needs of its members, but also to improve the justice system and educate the public about the law and the role of attorneys.
The 2010-11 series kicked off October 14, with the topics of child custody, support and alimony. The legal experts were Shari Baran, from the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office, and local attorneys Ronald Haldy and Terry Bankert.
Burroughs said 33 people attended the first event of the new season, and more than 200 attended the 2009-10 series.
Baran explained the prosecutor’s role in the legal issues surrounding the matters, and touched on child support guidelines, defaults and custody and parentage. She also explained several programs available, including one through the Friend of the Court, an innovative program aimed at solving problems regarding parent time and getting families together for the sake of the children.
She also told the gathering that filing for bankruptcy does not excuse or affect child support.
Haldy talked about child custody, and explained physical and joint legal custody, and told the audience how judges use 12 factors in determining what is in the best interest of a child or children when making his decisions. He said it is best when the parents agree on things and avoid long court battles and days in trial.
Bankert gave an overview of the system and divorce process, and urged the participants to protect their rights throughout the proceedings.
At the end of the session, Bankert and Haldy answered a number of questions from the audience.
Bankert said these particular issues are important.
“People are confused in divorce, and when you tell them what the rules are, you empower them,” he said.
He said if people are going through divorce, child and spousal support issues, custody and parenting time, and they learn more about the process and procedures, the law and their rights and obligations, they have a little bit more control of their lives.
“And they’ll have a better understanding, which could lead to a decision to dissolve their marriage or seek reconciliation,” he said.
Bankert said this is an excellent way to get information about these legal issues, and others, to the public. He said statistics show that more and more people are trying to represent themselves in court matters, and these seminars are one way to help people who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
While Bankert is one of many local attorneys who donate their time and expertise for these legal seminars, he and others still recommend people hire an experienced attorney to handle many legal matters that cannot be done by a layman.
And the topics to be covered later in this series may give people a peek at just that. The seminars range from tax-related issues to neighborhood politics, and everything in-between. It even has a session on pet laws.
“Some of our topics were from previous seminars, and some are new to the series,” Burroughs said. “We pick our topics based on current relevancy, as well as the topics that were the most attended in the previous series.”
Those who attended in the past have also suggested certain topics to be covered, she said.
“But we always have seminars on family support, child custody, alimony, real estate, consumer’s law, small claims and taxes,” Burroughs said.
The schedule for the rest of 2010-11 looks like this:
• November 18 - Alternatives to Foreclosure. Burroughs said this was added to address new issues that have risen and to compliment a real estate seminar.
• January 13 - Identifying and Addressing Tax Issues in Multiple Legal Contexts.
• February 10 - Small Claims: Top 10 Do’s and Don’t’s.
• March 10 - Consumer Issues: Debt and Collection; The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act; Identity Theft.
• April 14 - The Americans with Disabilities Act - Employment and Housing, The Family and Medical Leave Act. Burroughs said this seminar is new, and one of the topics that she and other GCBA officials get inquiries about and add based on the topic and current interest.
• May 12 - Real Estate/Neighbor Relations. Burroughs said this is also a new topic for this series. “We’ve gotten quite a few calls over the last few months of neighbors not getting along,” she said. Those disputes can stem from a fence being too close to another’s property line, a neighbor’s dog in their yard, or an overhanging tree. “We see neighbors calling police because they’re aggravated with each other, and some are spending money in court over a tree limb,” Burroughs said.
• June 9 - Pet Law 101: What Every Good Pet Owner Must Know! Another new topic, Burroughs said. It was modeled after a similar topic covered by the Saginaw County Bar Association during one of that group’s legal seminars for citizens. Burroughs said it also will cover animals running loose, and children or adults being bitten by dogs.
Each session is held at the Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley St. from 6-7:30 p.m. There is limited seating, and refreshments are served. Reservations may be made online at www.gcbalaw.org
And as a new, added feature, each session will be video-taped. Burroughs said. “We found that we’ve had sessions in the past where people could not attend, but were interested in getting the information,” she said.
But the people in attendance need not worry about being identified, either by face or from the questions that they may ask. Their comments and questions will be spliced out of the final tape, which is usually available on the Flint Public Library website within 30 days of the actual event. Burroughs said that is done to protect the privacy of citizens who attend.
“They are vulnerable,” she said. And because those people have serious legal issues and questions, “their backs are up against the wall.”
“We do not want them to think we are exploiting them or their situation on legal matters and issues.”
Because the sessions are taped, attorneys who offer their legal advice also must sign consent waivers. But few lawyers would object to free publicity, especially the one’s who appear at the free seminars and have an interest and experience in that particular area of law.
But the verdict on the free legal seminars among the public has been nothing but positive.
“They love our seminars,” Burroughs said. “And that’s what’s kept us doing these over and over” Burroughs said some attend to learn from the pro’s about an area of the law that is affecting them, while others just come to learn something new.
“The attorneys are grateful as well, because this is a way of giving back to the community, and it helps to raise the profile of our attorneys and our Bar Association as well.”
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