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New child support guidelines go into effect January 1, 2009. Click here for information about the guidelines.
If you would like to volunteer to take a family law case, please contact Rachel Biscardi.
The Women’s Bar Foundation is proud to award Kristine Ann Cummings our Volunteer Attorney Award for her work on the
Family Law Project for Battered Women.
 Kristine Ann Cummings is an attorney at the law firm of Schlesinger and Buchbinder, LLP where she concentrates her practice in domestic relations and general civil litigation. Since her admittance to the bar in 2007, Attorney Cummings has represented several victims of domestic violence through the Family Law Project for Battered Women (FLP). She is also involved with the Outreach Commission of the Parish of St. Ignatius of Loyola and is a member of the Family Law sections of the Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Among the many cases that she has taken, Attorney Cummings successfully defended a young woman against a retaliatory 209A Abuse Protection order that was obtained against her, ex parte, by her husband’s mother. After a long history of domestic violence, the wife had filed for divorce and obtained an abuse protection order against her husband. The husband then had his mother file a retaliatory abuse prevention order against the client, drafted his mother’s affidavit, and served as an interpreter for the court. Attorney Cummings defended her client and, after a full hearing at which both parties presented testimony with the aid of a court interpreter, the Judge found insufficient evidence to support the allegations of abuse and vacated the order.
Attorney Cummings also represented a former wife with respect to a modification action filed by a former husband. The former husband sought an order terminating alimony payments to the former wife after he was injured on the job and no longer able to work. Ms. Cummings successfully argued that the alimony payments should be neither terminated nor reduced where the husband had the ability to pay the amount required by the judgment.
Attorney Cummings is presently representing the wife in a litigious divorce action involving the custody of four young children. This matter has been complicated by issues of domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse, mental illness and a pending criminal investigation against the husband.
“While complex issues of abuse, homelessness and mental illness can at times make the cases I take through the FLP quite challenging, it is also what makes them so rewarding. At the end of the day, this program is not just about helping someone in need during a difficult time, but truly empowering women to build a new life for themselves."
The Women's Bar Foundation has an internship opening:
Do you have an interest in assisting low-income victims of domestic violence?
Do you want practical, hands-on experience with clients?
Do you want the opportunity to help make positive changes in the law?
The Women’s Bar Foundation’s Family Law Project (FLP) seeks a legal intern to work between 6-20 hours a week. The intern would be responsible for assisting the FLP attorneys in running the project.
The intern's duties include:
¨ Direct client contact. The intern will conduct intakes and provide phone and in-person evaluations to all potential clients;
¨ Research and writing. The intern will draft memos of law on issues related to domestic violence and family law;
¨ Direct representation opportunities. The intern may represent victims of domestic violence in a 209A Abuse Prevention Order hearing;
¨ Program operations. The intern will participate in case evaluations;
¨ Grant reporting. The intern will maintain professional and accurate documentation of grant-related information; and
¨ Networking. The intern will correspond with lawyers and social service agencies.
An intern should have the following qualifications:
¨ Interest in working in a non-profit, legal service setting;
¨ Interest in working with people in crisis, specifically domestic violence victims;
¨ Strong verbal and written communication skills and the ability to deal with the public in a professional manner, both in person and on the telephone;
¨ Ability to pay close attention to details;
¨ Experience in a multicultural environment.
Application instructions: Send your resume and cover letter to Rachel Biscardi at rbiscardi@womensbar.org. Please include the date you would be available to begin as well as the day and times each week you would be available for the duration of the internship.
This is an unpaid internship. Eligible for course credit.
Started by a small group of WBA members in 1995, the Family Law Project (FLP) continues to be the largest pro bono program at the Women’s Bar Foundation, drawing 70-80 new attorneys each year. The FLP recruits, trains, and mentors attorneys and collaborates with legal and social services to provide high quality representation and assistance to victims of domestic violence. In the past 12 months, the FLP has fielded nearly 1,500 phone calls from victims of domestic violence, and has conducted more than 100 interviews.
Our goals are to prevent further abuse, homelessness, loss of child custody, and to decrease repeated court hearings. The FLP is designed to meet the legal needs of the underserved in the legal services community who have already been denied representation by a legal services agency and who might otherwise ‘fall through the cracks.’ About half of the individuals served by the FLP are indigent, according to federal poverty guidelines; the remaining individuals we serve are low income.
1995, the FLP won the R.O.S.E. Fund’s Distinguished Service Award
In 2003, the Women’s Bar Foundation received a Supreme Judicial Court Adams Pro Bono Publico Award for distinguished service and outstanding commitment
In 2004, the FLP received the Public Service Award from the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations. We are very grateful for the continued support of the bench and bar. |