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70% percent of youths in State institutions are from fatherless homes. 75% percent of adolescent patients in substance abuse centers are from fatherless homes. 85% percent of rapists motivated by displaced anger are from fatherless homes. 71% of teenage pregnancies are to children of single parents. Daughters of single parents are 2.1 times more likely to have children during their teenage years than are daughters from intact families. Daughters of single parents are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers, 164% more likely to have a premarital birth, and 92% more likely to dissolve their own marriages. All these intergenerational consequences of single motherhood increase the likelihood of chronic welfare dependency.
“What Can the Federal Government Do To Decrease Crime and Revitalize Communities?” by U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice Executive Office for Weed and Seed January 5-7, 1998. Most parents, especially dads, fear losing access to their children when their marriage dissolves. Although the bleak reality for fathers seems to be slowly improving in our courtrooms, Arkansas’s dads should continue to fight for equal consideration. Together with their attorneys, fathers can challenge the Legislature and the Courts to develop laws that provide trial courts with adequate discretion to decide whether joint custody and equal consideration of both parents is best for the children in each case, even when the parties do not agree. Bonnie Robertson owns the Robertson Law Firm, PLLC, focusing primarily in family and criminal law, and which has two office locations, one in North Little Rock and one in Benton.
Hats Off Staci Dumas Carson, of Watts, Donovan & Tilley, P.A., and her husband D. Kris Carson just welcomed into their family their first baby, a son—Eli Cooper Carson—on June 24, 2008, who weighed 7 lbs. and 2 ozs. Jay Taylor of the Friday Firm in Little Rock has been selected to participate in Leadership Arkansas, Class III. Cory Allen Cox, the Director of the Arkansas Insurance Department Criminal Investigation Division, was named to Arkansas Business’s “Forty Under Forty.” Tim Cullen of Cullen & Co., PLLC in Little Rock, was named to Arkansas Business’s “Forty Under Forty.” Dan Marvin of the Barber Firm in Little Rock and his wife Miranda had a baby girl—Avery Danielle—on July 19, 2008. Bert King, who is General Counsel at Home Bank of Arkansas, is happy to announce the birth of his second daughter Marleigh Elizabeth King on July 24, 2008. Nathan Chaney of the Henry Law Firm in Fayetteville and Hilary Chaney of the Hall Estill Law Firm in Fayetteville, recently welcomed their first child, a son—Jay River Chaney—who was born on June 20, 2008. Kristin Pawlik had a baby boy—Michael Spencer—on May 24, 2008. Kristin recently became a partner with Ketih, Miller, Butler, Schneider & Pawlik, PLLC.
Amy Freedman, Tasha Sossamon Taylor, and Andy Taylor at the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Conference in New York City in August.
MOCK TRIAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED As many of you know, one big project for YLS is the annual Mock Trial Competition. Last year’s competition was a success and the Mock Trial Committee hopes that this year will be even better. And of course, now is the time to start working on this year’s competition. The regional competition will be held on February 28, 2009, with the sate competition to be held on March 7, 2009. Please consider becoming a volunteer for this year’s Mock Trial Competition. It’s a rewarding way to introduce young people to the legal system. To volunteer or for further details, please contact Rando Hicks (800) 6095668 or rhicks@arkbar.com.
On September 20, 2008, Leah Phelps Carpenter, an Associate at Gable Gotwlas in Tulsa, OK, was married to the Honorable Judge Ronald A. White of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Kristen Collier Wright, an Associate at Bass, Berry & Sims in Memphis, will be featured in an upcoming article in the Commercial Appeal about her experiences as an attorney and working mother. Kristen also recently represented her firm at a national ceremony in New York City to accept the firm’s award for being named one of the 50 Best Law Firms for Women by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Kristen and her husband Marshall Wright are the parents of 3-year-old twins, Collier Benton and Syble Elizabeth. Brian Smith (and his wife Ellie) of the Friday Firm are the parents of Walker Smith. Carter Stein (and his wife Emily) of the Law Offices of Gary Green are the parents of Bauman Stein, not sure of spelling of name or date of birth. Zane Chrisman gave birth to daughter Alexandra on September 24, 2008.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON YLS MEMBERS WHO DESERVE A “HATS OFF” OR WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT IDEAS FOR ARTICLE PUBLICATION PLEASE CONTACT THE EDITOR OF “IN BRIEF”, TASHA SOSSAMON TAYLOR, tcsossamon@yahoo.com