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The Mississippi Bar Association - Young Lawyers Division

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The Bar’s Young Lawyers Division is composed of all lawyers under the age of 37 and any lawyer over the age of 37 during their first three years of practice following their admission. The Young Lawyers Division is governed by its Board of Directors and is active in many public service endeavors.

For more information contact Rene Garner at rgarner@msbar.org.  

 

Guardian Ad Litem Training DVDs

The Child Advocacy Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of The Mississippi Bar is launching a new endeavor that will directly benefit your local courts, bar association, and Mississippi youth.  For the past several years, Chancellors as well as Youth Court Judges throughout the state have often commented upon the noticeable shortage of certified guardians ad litem available to serve in their courts.  Juvenile advocates have also observed the shortage.

 

To confront and address this imminent need, the Child Advocacy Committee of The Mississippi Bar, together with The University of Mississippi School of Law and Mississippi College School of Law, has produced a video for purposes of certifying more guardians ad litem.  Copies of this video will be made available to each judicial district as a courtesy of the Child Advocacy Committee and The Mississippi Bar.  The video, which will be available on DVD, has been approved for six (6) hours of CLE credit.  Corresponding supplemental written materials are available in PDF format at the links below. These instructional materials have been approved by the Bar and comply with the Mississippi CLE requirements.

 

Any attorney licensed in Mississippi may check out the video.  After viewing, the participating attorney will sign an affidavit verifying that he or she has watched the video, understands its contents, and will comply with the regulations governing guardians ad litem.  The attorney will then be placed on a list of lawyers willing to serve pro bono on one case.  That bar member will remain in a queue of volunteers for one year from the execution date of the affidavit.
 
Attorneys who view the Guardian Ad Litem Training DVDs may utilize the training for both certification and CLE purposes once per year.  René Garner, Section and Division Coordinator for The Mississippi Bar, will monitor earned credit hours and maintain records including accurate and up-to-date lists of volunteer attorneys available to serve within each jurisdiction.  

Thank you for your interest in becoming a certified guardian ad litem and for dedicating your service for the benefit of Mississippian children.
 
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact René Garner at 601-355-9226 or rgarner@msbar.org.
 

                                                                  2008-2009 Child Advocacy Committee

The Mississippi Bar,

Young Lawyers Division

 

 

The Guardian Ad Litem Training DVDs are available with the Chancellors in your area. Contact your local Chancellor to check out the DVDs.

 

To obtain continuing legal education (CLE) credit and to be added to the queue to serve pro bono on one GAL case per year, you will need to download the forms below and mail both forms along with $25 to The Mississippi Bar, Attn: Rene' Garner, PO Box 2168, Jackson, Mississippi 39225-2168. For additional information, please contact Rene' at rgarner@msbar.org. 

 

        CLE form, click here

      

        Affidavit, click here

 

The following written materials are available in PDF format for individual download and printing. These supplemental materials may be useful to Guardians Ad Litem (GAL) becoming certified through the Guardian Ad Litem Training DVDs made available through the Young Lawyers Division of The Mississippi Bar.

 

These materials are the property of the professors, lawyers, and social worker who served as presenters in the Guardian Ad Litem Training. Although the following materials are available for reference purposes, these written works remain the work product (or sole property?) of the author/presenters therein.

 

Disc 1 - Duties of Guardian (1 hour, 15 minutes)

Panel: Debbie Bell, Shirley Kennedy, David Calder 

 

Materials: 

            Power Point Presentation, Shirley Kennedy, click here

            GAL Representation, David Calder, click here

 

Disc 2 - Duties of Guardian (1 hour)

Panel: David Calder, Shirley Kennedy

 

Materials:        

            Same as Disc 1 materials

 

Disc 3 - Custody (1 hour)

Presenter: Debbie Bell

 

Materials:

         Custody and Visitation, click here

         Jurisdiction, click here 

 

Disc 4 - Interviewing Children (1 hour)

Presenter: Tomiko Mackey

 

Materials:

          Power Point Slides, Tomiko Mackey, click here

 

Disc 5 - Special Topics (45 minutes)

Panel: Shirley Kennedy, Debbie Bell, Adam Pittman

 

Materials:  

            Termination and Adoption Actions, click here

            Rule 81(d), click here

 

Disc 6 - Ethical Issues (1 hour)

Moderator: Debbie Bell

Panel: David Calder, Shirley Kennedy, and Adam Pittman

 

Materials:

            Summary of Youth Court Rules, click here

 

Appendix

            Youth Court Rules, click here

            American Bar Association GAL Standards, click here