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Gender Identity in Family Law Cases

Best practices when working with transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive clients

  • Product Number: 2250134P01
  • CLE Credits, earn up to:
    3 substantive credits, 0 ethics credits CLE Credit Note
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  • Product Description
  • Agenda & Materials
  • Faculty
  • Product Description

    Product Description

    While transgender people have always existed as part of our society, the topic of gender identity has only recently reached mainstream discussion and it is still a topic with which many practitioners feel unfamiliar. Additionally, transgender and gender nonconforming clients are still facing several social and political threats that make finding an attorney who understands and accepts their identity even more crucial. This program aims to educate the everyday family law attorney on both the background context and best practices of working with transgender and gender non-conforming clients and discussing gender identity openly and comfortably with clients.

    The intersection of gender identity and the families we create and raise can come into conflict when clients are in front of the Probate and Family Court. We cover what the legal ramifications of a name change and/or gender marker change can mean in the context of a divorce, parentage, or custody action, as well as how to best advocate for your clients in a Probate and Family Court that is still catching up with best practices. Further, legal custody and decision making for a client’s transgender or gender nonconforming minor children has increasingly become a high conflict and fraught area of litigation in Probate and Family Court matters, and this program equips you to better represent your clients in these cases.

    Practitioners leave this program with an understanding of:

    • How to feel comfortable and make clients feel comfortable discussing gender identity;

    • Legal name change and gender marker changes and how to reflect those on Probate and Family Court pleadings;

    • The social and political reality faced by transgender and gender nonconforming clients;

    • Best Practices for representing transgender and gender nonconforming clients in family law matters; and

    • Best Practices for representing parents with transgender and nonconforming children in family law matters. 

  • Agenda

    Agenda & Materials

    Please Note

    MCLE webcasts are delivered completely online, underscoring their convenience and appeal. There are no published print materials. All written materials are available electronically only. They are posted 24 hours prior to the program and can be accessed, downloaded, or printed from your computer.

  • Faculty

    Chair

    Annika Bockius-Suwyn, Esq., ABS Law, LLC, North Waltham

    Faculty

    Catherine Cappelli, Esq., Cappelli Law LLC, Newton Upper Falls
    Patience Crozier, Esq., GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, Boston
    Mason J. Dunn, Esq., MA LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Boston
    Caitlin C. Egleson, Esq., Egleson & Sturges, LLC, Waltham
    Charles R. Hunsinger, Bowditch & Dewey LLP, Boston
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