First weeks on job were 'a crash course in juvenile law'

Deferred health care associate gains quick appreciation for responsibility
By: Diana Cohen, Associate, Arnall Golden Gregory


My very first client as a newly minted attorney was a four year old boy named Jamie,[1] and our initial meeting took place seated on his foster mother’s living room floor while he polished off a plate of chicken nuggets. At the time, I was working as a deferred law firm associate with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Association’s (AVLF) Once Child, One Lawyer Program. My law firm, Arnall Golden Gregory (AGG), has a strong partnership with AVLF and I have always been interested in juvenile law, so the One Child, One Lawyer Program was a perfect fit during my deferral period from the firm.

My first few weeks at AVLF were a crash course in juvenile law. I worked directly with Lila Bradley, the Director of the One Child, One Lawyer Program, assisting her with the docket of child deprivation cases that she handles through Fulton County Juvenile Court’s Family Drug Court program. On a typical day, I would attend hearings with Lila, try to keep pace during impromptu hallway meetings with various social workers and attorneys, and use any spare moments to catch-up on the complicated histories behind each case. One case involved nine children who were divided up and placed in several foster homes. Another case involved a teen boy who had to live in a therapeutic residential facility because severe emotional-behavioral issues had caused him to lash out physically against her foster mother. All the cases involved mothers with drug problems who were attempting to get back on track, with varying degrees of success.

By the time my first solo client meeting occurred, I’d shadowed Lila on countless other child meetings and interviews, but the task still felt daunting. My client, Jamie, had been living in a stable foster placement for as long as he could remember, with a grandmotherly figure who took great pride in his care. The initial case plan was for him to return to his mother’s custody after she completed drug treatment, but things had changed by the time I became involved. Jamie’s mother had dropped out of her treatment facility, stopped attending visits with Jamie and his siblings, and failed to return phone calls from her social worker. The new case plan was to terminate the mother’s parental rights, so Jamie and his siblings could move to permanent adoptive placements. That first meeting was just one of many where I would gradually try to ascertain Jamie’s feelings and preferences related to these difficult issues.

For the first five minutes of our meeting, Jamie stared intently at the chicken nugget crumbs on his plate, occasionally shrugging as I asked him about school. His trust would not be won easily. As I got to know Jamie better during subsequent meetings, I learned that he enjoyed visits with his six siblings (who were living in different foster homes), and felt especially attached to his three year old sister. From time to time, I would ask Jamie about his mother. He would look over at his foster mother, thinking perhaps I meant her. Jamie’s foster mother would gently remind him that his mother is the lady he sometimes sees on Saturday when he visits with his siblings. “Oh, their mother,” Jamie would reply, thinking he’d solved the riddle.

When I transferred from AVLF to my position at AGG as a healthcare associate, the firm adopted Jamie’s case on a pro bono basis so I could continue to work on it. During my first year at AGG, I represented Jamie and his three year old sister in the termination of their mother’s parental rights. Although termination of parental rights (TPR) is considered a last resort, Jamie’s case had been pending for years and, after initially working very hard in her drug treatment program, his mother had gone into a downward spiral involving drugs and prison, followed by close to a year of no contact with her younger children. The TPR hearing, which I handled on Jamie and his sister’s behalf, was expected to be relatively simple given the compelling facts in favor of termination.

I’ll never forget the pit in my stomach when Jamie’s mother appeared for the hearing. Despite her prolonged absence, she now wanted to make one last effort to maintain her legal status as Jamie’s mother. It would be my job to cross-examine her when she testified in the case – to ask questions that highlighted her track record of failing to care for her children. In the end, Jamie’s mother testified that she did not feel comfortable taking care of him and his younger sister; rather, she hoped to preserve her relationship with her older teenage children who were represented by another attorney. I was spared from having to ask many difficult questions, but it was a very close brush with one of the hardest tasks that any child advocate will have to face.

Months after the TPR was final, Jamie was transferred from his foster mother’s house – the only home he’d ever known – to a new adoptive home 60 miles away. Jamie’s foster mother felt that she was getting too old to care for him long-term and therefore felt that she could not offer herself as an adoptive placement. Although Jamie’s adoptive parents are completely dedicated, the transition was rough. Jamie began acting up in school and bedwetting. His adoptive parents are continuing to work with him, his teachers, and a therapist to help him adjust to the huge change in his life.

Although Jamie’s case closed when the adoption became final, I have continued to handle other pro bono One Child, Once Lawyer cases during my last two years at AGG. Certain critical legal skills are common to both my healthcare and juvenile law practices. In both areas, I have to listen closely to my clients, try to put myself in their shoes, and understand both the immediate issues and the bigger picture. The best regulatory advice comes from an attorney who understands a healthcare client’s business, just as the best child representation comes from an attorney who understands the child’s broader family relationships, educational concerns, and psychological issues. My One Child, One Lawyer cases have taught me that lawyers have a great deal of power, and that power needs to be handled with the utmost care and sense of responsibility. Life-changing decisions are made every day in Juvenile Court – when families are split apart, or new families are created. In my healthcare regulatory practice, our clients rely heavily on the counsel that we provide, and I take that responsibility very seriously.

AVLF and its programs embody a commitment to public service and a belief in the ability of committed attorneys to do great things for their community. I try to emulate these ideals in my current practice and believe they have given me an excellent foundation for a meaningful legal career.