Welcome!

As the Chair of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, I welcome you to our website and hope that you will be encouraged to join one of the most vibrant sections of the Association.

The Family Law Section boasts a membership of approximately 2,700. Our members span the entire state. Our events - specifically our summer meeting - are designed to encourage families with young children to participate. Our 2009 summer meeting was held at the Grand Cascades Hotel in Vernon, New Jersey, an area chock- full of activities for young families. The meeting included a two-morning, 6 ½ credit CLE program, at which spouses and significant others were welcomed. The CLE focused on “our children” and “ourselves,” and included a Supervising Special Agent from the FBI navigating us through the dangers to our children on the internet and the challenges families face from technological innovations.   During the meeting, members’ younger children were entertained by a special magic show from our longstanding member Michael Dickman. Camp, crafts, face painting and other fun activities were also offered.

Besides being the Section known for having a good time, the Family Law Section has and continues to present opportunities for friendship and camaraderie that are vital to an area of practice all too often fraught with a high level of contentiousness.

The Section’s CLE programs have been a mainstay for attorneys at every level of experience, to understand the complexities of this practice area. The Section’s CLE programs are dedicated to helping practitioners keep up with the constantly-changing and evolving law and its nuances. CLE’s are offered twice a year throughout the State - one at a practical skills level and the other more complex. While designing programs to help our members meet the challenges of practicing law, we also address maintaining good health in what most lawyers would agree is a high stress practice area.

With Section membership comes four issues of the Family Law Review - an outstanding publication that raises thought-provoking current issues and examines interesting and innovative decisions.

The Section’s listserve is an invaluable resource for both seasoned and novice practitioners, from which to gain from the experiences of their colleagues. It is overseen by Elliot Scheinberg, a member of our Executive Committee.

The Section’s Executive Committee, with over 60 members statewide, includes representatives from 13 districts, liaisons from the Young Lawyers Section and Committee on Children and the Law, as well as Chairs and Co-Chairs of 22 committees, which provide the backbone of the Section.

All committees welcome new members. Committee membership provides entry into Section involvement and opportunities for leadership. Our Section’s Executive Committee is proud of its diversity and always looking for “younger” lawyers who would like to become active. For those members who have not signed up for a committee, please do so by contacting the Chair or Co-Chair of the committee or by filling out the Committee Assignment Request form, and e-mailing it to Lisa J. Bataille at LBataille@NYSBA.org. Upon receipt of the form, a member of the Section will contact you.

Ronnie Gouz
Chair