By Alla Roytberg, Esq. 

Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.”  – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Each year hundreds of children in the United States and beyond are killed or seriously hurt by family members as a result of an ongoing custody dispute.  After one 2016 tragedy in New York, when a child was killed by her biological father during a court-ordered visit, the mother took the fight to protect children from violence to Washington D.C. 

In September of 2018, our government took a tiny step in the right directly. The House passed and delivered to the Senate a “non-binding” resolution to place the children’s safety ahead of other best interest factors in family court custody analyses. http://bit.ly/2wHVMUw . Now the resolution will likely sit idly in the Senate, because it is more important for most of our elected leaders to investigate other elected leaders of both parties rather than to protect our country’s children.

At our firm we always put children’s interests first. In fact, we refuse to represent clients if we discover that they are acting contrary to their children’s best interests. Most lawyers would not fire their clients in such circumstances, but we do so.  It is the choice I have consciously made when I started my own firm more than 22 years ago.  It is the choice that our team continues to make each day.

The best approach to custody is mediation with a neutral professional. We offer mediation through Zoom Video for people who do not feel comfortable sitting in the same room, or do not have the time or ability to commute to our office. To take advantage of this service, each party connects through his or her own device at no additional cost to them. They save money and time on their commute to our office, and they feel safer and more comfortable speaking from the privacy of their own chosen location. Video mediation reduces conflict and helps people negotiate effectively and resolve their disputes without the added emotional and financial cost. Documents are emailed in advance and then reviewed through a shared screen during mediation sessions. Fees are paid by credit card online or via an electronic transfer.

The traditional litigation system is antiquated and inefficient. We at goodlawfirm.com have embraced the use of Video Conferences and Video Consultations as a uniquely effective tool in our way of delivering legal services to families and individuals in NY, NJ and CT and mediation services nationally and internationally. We invite you to give it a try with the introductory free 15 minute video consultation available during June and July only. Please contact aroytberg@goodlawfirm.com and we will be glad to see it up.