HOWARD FAMILY LAW CERTIFICATE PROGRAM 2015

June 4, 2015
HOWARD FAMILY LAW
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
Since 2010
http://www.law.howard.edu/1430
Educating, Serving, and
Advocating for All Families at
Howard and In Our Communities
HOWARD FAMILY LAW CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
2015 NEWSLETTER
IN THIS ISSUE...…..
A Message from the Director 1
Cynthia R. Mabry-King
Professor of Law/Director
A Message from the Director
On Campus Education
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Careers in Family Law
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Family Lawyer Practical
Skills Training
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Child Welfare/Family
Justice Clinic
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Family Law in Film Series
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Student Research Projects
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We continue to experience great success with the Certificate Program
Off Campus Education
in its fifth year. This newsletter highlights some of the tremendous
work that Howard administrators, professors, staff, students, alumni
Externships & Internships
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and friends perform to ensure the success of the program. In August
Community Service Projects
2014, we started a new semester with 22 Certificate candidates. In
April 2015, we ended the semester with a total of 30 candidates after 8
Book Award
new candidates joined us in the spring. Several candidates have prelaw school backgrounds in family support such as social work, working
2015 Graduates
with non-profits that serve families or drafting policies that affect
families. I am so proud of our students. On May 9, 2015, we graduated
Acknowledgements
13 Certificate holders-a record number of graduates for one year. This
group is composed of a diverse group of women and one man who are
Alumni News
passionate about serving families. In this issue, you will read highlights
about some of their accomplishments and returning students’
achievements. You also will learn more about academic and practical aspects of the program that help
candidates to realize their goal of becoming a family lawyer. As of May 2015, 43 students have been
graduated from the program. Many continue to practice law in family law fields or to serve families in a
myriad of other ways including providing pro bono legal services. You will learn about their ongoing
work in this newsletter.
Cynthia R. Mabry-King
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On Campus Education and Lectures
Certificate candidates and the Howard University School of Law (HUSL) community had a unique
opportunity to observe as Attorney Mary L. Bonauto presented oral arguments in favor of marriage
equality to a panel of experts in a dry-run in HUSL’s moot courtroom on April 23, 2015. Attorney
Bonauto was preparing to make her oral argument before the United States Supreme Court in DeBoer v.
Snyder on April 28. She has been the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders’ Civil Rights Project Director
since 1990. She and her co-counsel won a 1999 ruling in Baker v. State, 744 A.2d 864 (Vt. 1999), which
resulted in the first civil union law in the nation. Attorney Bonauto also was lead counsel in Goodridge v.
Department of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 (Mass. 2003) (legalizing same-sex marriage in
Massachusetts). Professor Valerie Schneider, an HUSL professor who is the Director of the Fair Housing
Clinic, organized the event.
Family Lawyer Practical Skills Training: Child Support Enforcement
On September 3, 2014, Certificate candidates learned about how child support enforcement attorneys
use DNA testing to identify fathers, locate parents, effect service of process and adhere to notice
requirements. The two speakers are recent HUSL graduates.
Andrea E. Johnson is an Assistant Attorney General with the District of
Columbia Office of the Attorney General in the Child Support Services
Division (CSSD). She represents the District of Columbia and custodial
parents in paternity litigation and child support initial order, enforcement
and modification proceedings. Ms. Johnson was a judicial law clerk to Judge
Frederic R. McDaniel of the New Jersey Superior Court. She is licensed to
practice law in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Colorado.
Brandes Ash, a 2011 graduate of the Certificate Program, is an Assistant
Attorney General at CSSD. Ms. Ash litigates child support cases and
assisted in drafting CSSD’s Attorney Training Manual. She is licensed to
practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia. At Howard, Ms.
Ash served as the Howard Family Law Society’s Community Service Chair
and later as its President. She was as a judicial law clerk to Judge Herman
C. Dawson, Coordinating Judge of Juvenile Causes, in the Circuit Court,
Prince George’s County.
Attorneys Ash and Johnson explain child support enforcement procedures.
Careers in Family Law
On November 17, 2014, Howard alumnus Isaac H. Marks, Sr. returned to the School of Law to discuss
his career as a family lawyer. In his remarks, Attorney Marks, whose practice areas include Domestic
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Attorney Isaac H. Marks, Sr.
Attorney Sogand Zamani
Relations, Employment Law and Estate Planning, emphasized ethics, professionalism, and good legal
writing skills for excellent representation of clients. He also urged students to rely upon basic
lawyering tools such as Strunk and White’s, THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE. Attorney Sogand Zamani,
partner at Zamani & Scott, LL.P. joined Mr. Marks on the panel. Attorney Zamani’s law practice
focuses on adoption law, assisted reproductive technology, divorce and custody. She discussed her
hybrid domestic relations and collaborative law practice. She described reasons that parties should
choose the collaborative law method to resolve domestic disputes and some aspects of the
collaborative law process. Adjunct Professor Judy Woodall (pictured below to the left) introduced
Mr. Marks and helped to organize this program that included dinner. She and her Family Law
Practice students joined Certificate candidates at the program.
Magistrate Woodall
Attorneys Marks and Zamani share their experiences and career information.
In September 2014, Certificate candidates and Professor
Mabry-King met with Attorney Robert Harris, Chicago Public
Guardian. He and Attorney Carolyn Thomas, Deputy Public
Guardian, Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, visited
the School of Law. The Public Guardian represents abused
and neglected children, children in divorce, and adults who
require a guardian. Mr. Harris described his work and
discussed career opportunities at the Office of the Cook
County Public Guardian.
Attorneys Harris, Mabry-King, and Thomas
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Child Welfare/Family Justice Clinic Experiential Learning and CLE Program
On Wednesday, April 1, 2015, Adjunct Professor Rahkel Bouchet, Supervising Attorney, and her Child
Welfare/Family Justice Clinic students (pictured below) presented new cases to Child Abuse and Neglect
Counsel at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The students presented new adoption and
termination of parental rights case law. With Professor Bouchet's support and support from their
classmates, the presenters were very articulate and poised as they presented lengthy discussions of
three cases and discussed practice tips as well as implications that the cases had on attorneys'
representation of their clients. Nine Certificate candidates were enrolled in the Clinic this year. Professor
Bouchet and her students provide a great service to families and the legal community in the District of
Columbia as students gain lawyering experience. After the CLE, one attorney praised our students’ and
Professor Bouchet’s work: "I wanted to express my gratitude to your students for their presentation of
the case law update …. All the presenters were very well prepared and quite impressive.…. I look
forward to future presentations by the Clinic.” Clinic students also experienced great success in the
courtroom. In November 2014, four Certificate candidates Darryl Daniels (Lead Counsel), Jazzirelle
Sepulveda (2nd Chair), Milne Young and Caroline Vickers, represented a father in a two-day contested
adoption trial. The Court denied the adoption petition and preserved their client’s parental rights. In
another case, Kemah George (Lead Counsel) and Milne Young (2nd Chair) represented a father in a twoday contested custody trial. The court denied the mother's custody motion and awarded the father sole
physical and legal custody after the mother had engaged in parental alienation tactics.
Jazzirelle Sepulveda (left) and
Kemlia Reed Sherman
Milne Young and
Professor Bouchet
Alanna Rawls
Left to Right: Professor Mabry-King, Etherial Edetan, Milne Young, Kemlia Reed Sherman,
Jazzirelle Sepulveda, Professor Bouchet, Alanna Rawls, Darryl Daniels and Caroline Vickers
Family Law in Film Series
On April 14, 2015, Certificate candidates and Adoption Law students viewed the multi-cultural film
“Annie.” “Annie” is about a little girl who searches for her biological family while she lives in a foster
home. She meets a businessman who befriends her and eventually decides to adopt her. Professor
Mabry-King distributed discussion questions that focused on the child welfare system, adoption, and
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parental rights and selected New York statutes because the story takes place in New York City. In
addition, Professor Mabry-King discussed essay exam writing techniques.
Left to Right: Brandy Edmonds, Veronica Garcia, Kemlia Reed Sherman and Caroline Vickers
Not pictured: Natasha McFarland and Milne Young also viewed the film.
Student Research Projects
Candidates must complete in depth research and analysis of a family law issue. Candidates from this
year’s graduating class wrote about some interesting and complex issues. A sampling of the topics
include Maryland’s Witness Protection Program and its effect on families, same-sex domestic violence,
child trafficking, child maltreatment and sexual abuse, child abuse, foster parents and respondeat
superior, the disparate treatment that victims of non-stranger rape experience in dealing with the
criminal justice system, reforming evidentiary principles for domestic violence cases, and the economics
(costs and taxation) of race and adoption.
Off-Campus Education and Training
Students were invited and encouraged to attend District of Columbia Bar Association, Section of Family
Law and Neighborhood Legal Services Program events. Three of the topics that were of great interest to
this year’s Certificate candidates were: The Role of Child and Family Services Agency (CSFA) in Family
Law Cases and An Intersection of Child Abuse and Neglect and Domestic Relations Cases. One Certificate
candidate attended a seminar on Estate Planning.
Externships and Internships
Each candidate must complete at least one internship or externship to become more client-ready
upon graduation. Some candidates completed more than one assignment. Kemah George filed
family reunification petitions for refugees and immigrants and family petitions for minor children
from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Oluwafunmilayo Ladeinde, Darryl Daniels, and
Caroline Vickers worked with Neighborhood Legal Services Program attorneys on client intake
interviews, preparing clients and documents for trial, drafting memorandums and motions and
researching family law issues that affected low-income families in the District of Columbia. Naomi
(Tanks) Campbell interned at the Office of Attorney General Child Protection Section. Alanna Rawls
interned at the Office of Attorney General’s Domestic Violence Section and assisted with Civil
Protection Order hearings and trials and analyzed recent court of appeals rulings. Angel Murphy
drafted motions for termination of parental rights and adoption placements for the Office of the
Attorney General Family Services Division. Milne Young interned at the Department of Homeland
Security and Bread for the City. Several students held judicial internships. When law students work
in their chambers, judges often become their mentors and advisors. We appreciate training that
Certificate candidates received in the following judges’ chambers: Judges Jeanette Clark, Herman C.
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Dawson, Kimberley Knowles, Milton C. Lee, Zinora M. Mitchell-Rankin, Robert R. Rigsby, Kenia
Seoane Lopez, Sheila Tillerson-Adams; and, Magistrate Judges Diane Brenneman and Michael
McCarthy.
Community Service Projects
Certificate candidates must earn at least fifteen (15) hours of community service credit by performing
legal or non-legal service for a community. Typically, candidates tutor local children and provide legal
services during Alternative Spring Break in New Orleans. Here, we highlight a few other services that
Certificate candidates (all of whom are members of the Howard Family Law Society (HFLS)) provided.
HFLS observed Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October 2014 by hosting a toiletry drive for
domestic violence survivors who reside in shelters or temporary housing. Two large boxes of toiletries
were donated to the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project's Legal Clinic. HFLS also hosted a clothing drive in
February 2015 for teenagers who are aging out of the foster care system and need business clothes for
interviews. HFLS collected more than 100 donations, including 20 suits, to donate to the Child and
Family Services' Office of Youth Empowerment's Clothing Closet. Other candidates supported a winter
coat drive for refugees.
Some 2015 graduates reported other community service projects. Shavannie Braham assisted lawful
permanent residents in applying for United States Citizenship, helped to clean up the Patuxent River,
and facilitated a group discussion on police enforcement in minority communities. Angel Murphy
participated in the Prince George’s County Teen Domestic Violence Summit and educating the public
about their rights during police encounters. Alanna Rawls worked on public awareness campaigns
regarding issues affecting the LGBTQ community and the importance of same-sex marriage with the
San Diego Public Defender’s Juvenile Office. Natasha McFarland participated in Election Protection
during the 2012 Presidential election. Caroline Vickers helped to plan and facilitate a community
outreach project on fathers’ rights and organized a law camp for high school students. Jazzirelle
Sepulveda, Etherial Edetan, and Naomi Campbell mentored girls at Takoma Park Middle School and
volunteered at the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center. Oluwafunmilayo Ladeinde volunteered at Martha’s
Table. Kemlia Reed Sherman organized a National Night Out Event and was a Domestic Violence
fundraiser. Milne Young worked with children at Grace Community Church.
Darryl Daniels, Maleaha Brown and
Abolore Oshodi (who is not a
Certificate candidate) at the Domestic
Violence event.
Book Award
Maleaha Brown (Class of 2016) received a Book Award. She received a
new copy of a Family Law textbook which she used to study Family Law
during the spring semester. Professor Emeritus Laurence C. Nolan and
Attorney James Bishop (Class of 1982) continue to support the book
award and other projects. Ms. Brown also won second place in the
Washington Bar Association’s writing competition. She won a $2000
scholarship.
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Acknowledgements
We are thankful for immeasurable support from a number of different persons. In this volume, we
express our gratitude for support from a few groups and individuals who helped to prepare our students
for practicing law. First, we thank Magistrate Judge Judy Woodall. She teaches the popular Family Law
Practice course that she created to teach primarily Certificate candidates how to manage family law
Magistrate Judge Judy Woodall
cases and the intricacies of practicing family law. In addition, she frequently collaborates with Professor
Mabry-King on academic programs and course offerings. Moreover, this former family law attorney
hosts a bar preparation program that provides private one-on-one assistance for HUSL graduates. We
also want to congratulate Adjunct Professor Woodall on her recent promotion from Family Master to
Magistrate Judge for the Family Division, Circuit Court for Prince George’s County. At the program in
November, Professor Mabry-King pinned Magistrate Woodall. Pinning new students and alumni is a
HUSL tradition.
We also want to acknowledge the following attorneys and law office staff for helping to educate and
train Certificate candidates off campus: East of the River Youth Court, Howard University Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance Gadget Center, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, Office of Attorney General
(D.C.), San Diego Public Defender Service, National Center on Protection Orders Full Faith and Credit,
and the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project. Furthermore, we acknowledge attorneys and staff coordinators
including Derek Adye, Charisse Bourne, Richard Carlton, Christi Cunningham, Safiya Dixon, Molly Gavin
(CASA), Heather Hodges, Justin Hollimon, Stephanie Horne, Erin Johnson, Hanh Le, Nita Mazumder,
Rachel Mogga, Leutrell Osborne, Monica Player, Durriyyah Rose, Michelle Rose, Josephine Ross, Keeshea
Turner-Roberts, and Shannan Vankirk.
2015 Family Law Certificate Program Graduates
Left to Right: Darryl Daniels, Etherial Edetan, Alanna Rawls, Jazzirelle Sepulveda, Angel Murphy, Professor Mabry-King, Kemlia Reed
Sherman, Kemah George, Natasha McFarland, Shavannie Braham, Caroline Vickers and Milne Young pose for a photo after the
Baccalaureate ceremony. Not Pictured: Oluwafunmilayo Ladeinde and Naomi Campbell.
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Professor Mabry-King and the 2015 graduates are celebrating their graduation and their future careers
with federal, state and administrative law judges in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Delaware;
Ernst & Young LL.M. (Taxation) scholars, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, the Connecticut
Lawyers Corps. Of the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, the DeKalb County Juvenile Court-Child
Advocacy Center, and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Congratulations to Kemah E. George
and Kemlia Reed Sherman for earning 38 course credits in the Certificate Program! Only 21 credits are
required for graduation from the program.
Etherial Edetan congratulates Professor
Mabry-King on her Class of 2015
Outstanding Faculty Award.
Alumni News
Christina J. Aguirre (far left) started her own law firm in August 2014
with two associates. Van Hooser, Aguirre & Armistead, P.C., a Virginia
law firm, specializes in family law but also handles elder law, wills,
trusts and other probate matters, business law, criminal defense and
personal injury matters. Brandes Ash recently was elected PresidentElect of the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the National Bar
Association’s Women Lawyers Division (GWAC) and she chairs the
Community Outreach Committee. She received guardian ad litem training with the D.C. Volunteer
Lawyers Project. Lawyers of Color recognized her for excelling in her many professional endeavors.
Sharaya Cabansag (right) is living in Surabaya, Indonesia, the second largest city in Indonesia. She is
teaching English at the U.S. Consulate while her husband is working in Indonesia. Michelle Rose
completed a three-year clerkship with family law magistrates and started two new businesses: Crimson
Tide Consulting LLC - a legal and policy consulting firm and BY ELMS LLC - a property management and
acquisition corporation.
Howard Family Law Certificate Program
Contact Information:
Cynthia R. Mabry-King, Professor of Law/Director
[email protected]
(202) 806-8067
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