Indiana Family Lawyer Blog

We are looking for a dynamic Marketing Intern to work as a part of our team at our two sister companies (Harden Jackson LLC and MLJ Adoptions).   Qualified candidates will be highly motivated, have excellent writing skills, extremely adept with social media, detail-oriented and able to operate under basic guidance. This position has the possibility of becoming a full-time paid position for the right candidate.  This Internship will begin in May-June.  Are you ready to make it happen?   

Responsibilities

1. Assist with writing ad content for print media.
2. Assist with managing blog schedule, topics and writing.
3. Keep online listing and advertisements up to date with firm developments and changes.
4. Keep internal contact databases updated.
5. Assist with social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) updates.
6. Assist with web content updates as appropriate
7. Develop business through coordinating social functions through the local bar associations involving local firms and attorneys.

Qualifications

1.        At the Junior or Senior undergrad level majoring in Marketing or related discipline

2.       Ability to work with limited supervision

3.       Proven ability to manage social media campaigns

4.       Strong organizational and time-management skills

5.       Excellent communication skills

Working understanding of Excel,  Word,  PowerPoint and the Internet 

About Harden Jackson LLC:   The team at HARDEN JACKSON is committed to providing our clients with personalized, compassionate service while remaining assertive advocates protecting our clients' interests whether they are fighting for custody or negotiating the terms of a surrogacy contract. As effective and experienced litigators, the attorneys work with clients to develop strategies for negotiating settlements, while always preparing for litigation if necessary.  The firm's practice areas are restricted to: divorce, child custody and other areas of family law, adoption and reproductive law (including surrogacy and egg donors).

Communicating with your former (or soon-to be former) spouse can be difficult.  Emotions and disputes often make civil conversations difficult.  However, it’s easier than ever to communicate without ever even speaking.  Between email, social media and texting, we can now have a relationship or dialogue with pretty much anyone and never have to see them in person.  On the reverse side of that, emails, social media and texts can be used to enhance or detract from your case in a divorce or custody battle.

Attorney Clarissa Finnell, a seasoned attorney who practices exclusively in the area of family law, explains that using media as a tool has become prevalent in her family law cases.  Finnell explains, “Often times, a client comes in with emails or text messages to be submitted to the court to prove the spouse participating in inappropriate behavior, infidelity etc.”  However, Finnell also warns that this very same documentation can also be used against the client.  Finnell gives several tips on how to use technology in your favor for your divorce or custody dispute.

• Limit communication. Do not engage in or reply to any other communication unless it’s directly related to the children.  Communication should be limited to information about children’s well-being, parenting time, education etc.  This includes texts, emails and online private messages.
• Communication is important.  While limiting communication is important, it’s also important not to withhold child-related information.
• Communicate via documented channels.  Phone calls are hard to admit in a court.  Emails and texts are much easier to submit to the court.  Establish a preferred method to communicate with your ex-spouse and keep all communications, when possible, through this method.
• Save any emails, texts, Facebook posts or any other information you would like to submit to the court, but keep in mind that your ex-spouse can do the same.  This is why it is important to abstain from any communication that isn’t informational or about the children.
• Do not post anything online that you wouldn’t want the court to see.  Anything you post online including your status updates, pictures and even jobs you apply for can be used in court.  This also includes pictures of your children.

From Attorney Michele Jackson's trip to an African orphanage.  What a beautiful smile!

Press Contact:

Leah Potter

HARDEN JACKSON LLC

11450 N. Meridian, Carmel, IN 46032

Phone: 317.569.0770

Email: lpotter@hardenjacksonlaw.com

Web site: www.hardenjacksonlaw.com

For Immediate Release

ATTORNEYS FROM HARDEN JACKSON RECOGNIZED BY SUPER LAWYERS

CARMEL, IN – February 15, 2012 - Three attorneys from Harden Jackson, LLC have been recognized by Super Lawyers for 2012. Attorney Lanae Harden, who chairs the firm’s Family Law Practice Group, has been named to the “Super Lawyers” list as one of the top attorneys in Indiana for 2012. Attorney Michele Jackson, who chairs the firm’s Adoption and Reproductive Law Practice Group, has been named to the “Rising Stars” list as one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in Indiana for 2012. In addition, collaborative law attorney Clarissa Finnell has been named to the “Rising Stars” list.

The selection process for Super Lawyers employs a rigorous, multiphase process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.

Super Lawyer Lanae Harden is a founding member of Harden Jackson, LLC where she practices divorce and family law litigation with more than 15 years of experience. She chairs the firm’s Family Law Practice Group and frequently handles complex custody and parenting time litigation cases. Rising Star Michele Jackson chairs the firm’s Adoption and Reproductive Law Practice Group and focuses her practice in domestic and international adoptions as well as reproductive law matters. Rising Star Clarissa Finnell is a seasoned attorney who practices exclusively in the area of family law, representing clients with cases including legal separation, divorce, child support, child custody, paternity, parenting time, modification and contempt issues.

Harden Jackson, LLC is a Carmel law firm providing personalized service with a responsive and compassionate approach. As effective and experienced litigators, the attorneys work with clients to develop strategies for negotiating settlements, while always preparing for litigation if necessary. The practice assists clients in all areas of family law, adoption and reproductive law matters. For more information, please contact Leah Potter at 317.569.0770 or www.hardenjacksonlaw.com .

This week, we learned of a tragic story out of Utah.  Josh Powell, the husband of a missing Utah woman, killed his two sons and himself in an intentional house fire. This horrific act brings up questions about what could have been done to protect these children and the countless others who are caught in a child custody battle.

Powell, who was a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, had lost custody of his sons, yet they were still at his home when he took their lives. Custody in Powell's case was handled much like many cases — the goal was to remedy the situation that caused the loss of custody while maintaining the relationship of the father and sons. Powell lost custody after his father, Steven Powell, who they were living with, was arrested on child pornography charges in September, police said. Powell had been granted visits with his sons twice per week in his home.

Attorney, Lanae Harden, who chairs the Family Law Practice Group at HARDEN JACKSON, LLC, and has over 15 years experience with Child Custody cases commented that while this situation is very tragic, it is unlikely that a court could have ever predicted something like this. “Unless the child appears in immediate danger and/or the parent has a history of violence, it is very unlikely that a court would not allow the children to have visitation with the parent in their home.” Harden goes on to say “Child custody laws are designed for ‘the best interest of the child’, and typically this means that children should spend time with their parents.”

Read the complete article at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/parenting-family/story/2012-02-07/Powell-tragedy-sparks-questions-about-child-custody/53003130/1

In recent news, a sperm donor has led to a topic of debate regarding the need to regulate the number of children each sperm donor should be allowed to father. There is growing concern among parents, donors and medical experts about potential negative consequences of having so many children fathered by the same donor, including the possibility that genes for rare diseases could be spread more widely through the population. Another concern is the increased odds of accidental incest between half sisters and half brothers, who often live close to one another.

Critics say that fertility clinics and sperm banks are earning huge profits by allowing too many children to be conceived with sperm from popular donors, and that families should be given more information on the health of donors and the children conceived with their sperm. They also desire legal limits on the number of children conceived using the same donor’s sperm and a re-examination of the anonymity that cloaks many donors.

Although other countries, including Britain, France and Sweden, limit how many children a sperm donor can father, there is no such limit in the United States. There are only guidelines issued by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), a professional group that recommends restricting conceptions by individual donors to 25 births per population of 800,000.

The number of children born through sperm donation is unknown. The estimated number is between 30,000-60,000, perhaps even more. Mothers of donor children are asked to voluntarily report a child’s birth to the sperm bank, but an estimated 20-40% of them actually report the birth. Most families turn to the registry’s web site, donorsiblingregistry.com, for more information about a child’s half brother or half sisters.

The donors are given a number that identifies them and the children or families can look up how many siblings they have if they registered on the website identifying that donor number as their father also.

There are certainly competing interests at stake: the privacy of the sperm donor and the genetic or mental health concerns of the donor child, as well as concerns that the donor’s offspring will be a result of incest relationships and pose health concerns to those fetuses. The question of whose interests win out is still to be decided.

One major issue of liability and child support still remains in many states. Many states do not use the resources of a lawyer with known or unknown sperm donation arrangements. Often the sperm bank (or clinics) use consents and releases to add protection and limit liabilities in the arraignment. In recent years, there has been cases in which sperm donors that did not have a contract or agreement in place, were deemed financially responsible for the child as well as the intended parent(s). While this area of law is still “grey”, it is a hot topic to discuss amongst assisted reproduction professionals (medical and legal). A word to the wise, protect yourself and be sure that the medical facility, doctors, donors and recipients are all aware of the need for legal analysis of the sperm donation arrangement.