TOBY KLEINMAN'S REMARKS AT THE BATTERED WOMEN'S CUSTODY CONFERENCE IN NJ!

I am currently at the Clarion Empire Hotel listening to Attorney Toby Kleinman speak about advocating for a victim of domestic violence in court.  

Unfortunately, I was a little late getting in so I have missed some of the talk.  

She advised that when approaching the family court system you need to: 

1. have a real plan--don't throw yourself around; 

2. use analogies in order to illustrate what you are going through in a more impactful way; 

3. make sure that the evaluator in your case has experience in understanding domestic violence, appeal if you have to because this is so important; 

4. understand that the court doesn't understand the impact of domestic violence, so make sure you include impact statements in your motions; 

5. raise the issue of abuse in advance of your case so that you can strategize on how to address it; 

6. have a parenting therapist who can provide observations in regard to your parenting ability; 

7.  do not just trust you attorney.  Your attorney needs to earn your trust.  If you attorney does not appear to be defending you, don't just put up with that.