More than 40 attorneys attended today, as Unchained once again gave its popular training course on family law, this time in partnership with Rutgers Institute for Professional Education. The course provided an overview of New Jersey matrimonial law, covering the major steps of the divorce process — from filing the complaint to addressing issues of equitable distribution, child custody, child support and alimony — with a focus on arranged/forced marriage and the legal and ethical issues involved.
*The course fee of $150 was waived for admitted attorneys who committed to representing an Unchained client pro bono as she flees from an arranged/forced marriage. (The course was worth 8 or more CLE credits in New Jersey and New York, and 6.5 credits in Pennsylvania.)
~ Abed Awad, Esq. | Awad & Khoury, LLP | Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
~ Jamie Berger, Esq. | Argentino & Jacobs, LLC | Rockaway, NJ
~ Emily Carstensen, Esq. | Rubenstein, Meyerson, Fox, Mancinelli, Conte & Bern, PA | Montvale, NJ
~ Ellen Gold, Esq. | Attorney at Law | Clifton, NJ
~ Fraidy Reiss | Founder/Executive Director | Unchained At Last | Westfield, NJ
Unchained thanks the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey for the generous grant that made this CLE course possible.
NEXT COURSE DATE: November 3, 2015
CHECK BACK SOON FOR DETAILS
Meanwhile, click here to apply to join Unchained’s team of Pro Bono Attorneys, which will allow you to take the course for free.
Why should attorneys donate their time?
Attorneys who commit to representing an Unchained client pro bono receive:
~ FREE access to this training course, worth significant CLE credits in NJ, NY and PA ($150 value)
~ Experience in matrimonial law
~ Mentoring from an experienced matrimonial law attorney
~ Valuable networking opportunities
~ Hours of service toward exemption from mandatory pro bono assignments
~ Unchained funds for expert witnesses and other court-related fees
~ The chance to unchain a woman or a girl from a marriage she did not choose
Attorneys with 5+ years of matrimonial law experience also can take advantage of these opportunities:
~ Mentor another attorney (counts in New Jersey as hours of service toward exemption from mandatory pro bono assignments)
~ Present a portion of an upcoming Unchained CLE course (earns double CLE credits in New Jersey)
Unchained At Last urges you to be a part of a historic Chain-In to demand that the U.S. stop ignoring the horror of forced marriage.
Join the survivors, activists and supporters who will stand in Union Square wearing chains, with duct tape across their mouths, to show the world what life looks like for the many thousands of girls and women in forced marriages right here in the U.S.
This is a FREE event
Right here in the U.S., girls and women sometimes are forced, pressured or tricked into marriage. A 2011 study by the Tahirih Justice Center found 3,000 known or suspected cases of girls in the U.S. as young as 15 who had been forced to marry just between 2009 and 2011.
Does that shock you? Perhaps that’s because the U.S. has lagged behind other nations in acknowledging and responding to this human rights violation.
Here’s what you can do to help women and girls in the U.S. who are trying to leave or resist forced marriages:
~ Join the Chain-In, and get your friends to do the same.
~ Spread the word about the Chain-In by posting about it on social media using the hashtag #UnchainUnionSquare.
~ Stay updated on news about forced marriage in the U.S. Join the Unchained mailing list HERE, “like” Unchained on Facebook, and follow Unchained on Twitter.
~ Sign the Tahirih Justice Center petition to urge President Obama to end forced marriage in the U.S.
~ Volunteer your time to help a woman or a girl who is facing a forced marriage. Unchained relies on the kindness of pro bono attorneys, psychotherapists and others. Details here.
~ Support Unchained financially by clicking the DONATE NOW button at the top of this page. Even a small donation makes a huge difference to a woman or a girl fleeing a forced marriage.
~ Dress in all black, if possible.
~ Do not bring your own chains. Unchained will provide plastic chains and duct tape.
~ Wearing chains and having your mouth duct taped can be an intense experience. If the experience might trigger a traumatic memory for you, please consult a doctor or therapist about whether and how to join the Chain-In.
~ Remember that the Chain-In is a peaceful protest, in contrast with the violence of forced marriage.
Unchained is the only nonprofit in the U.S. dedicated to helping women and girls leave or avoid arranged/forced marriages. In three years, with an almost all-volunteer staff, Unchained has helped or is helping almost 90 women and girls, and Unchained wrote a bill that was passed into law in New Jersey in 2014.
Questions about the Chain-In? Email info@unchainedatlast.org or call (908) 913-0804.
Calling all attorneys who want to help women escape from arranged/forced marriages.
Unchained once again is offering its popular FREE* training course on family law, this time in partnership with Rutgers Institute for Professional Education. The course now is worth 8 or more Continuing Legal Education credits in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
NEXT COURSE DATE: Tuesday, March 3, 2015
9a to 5p (free breakfast and lunch included)
Newark, New Jersey
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: February 26, 2015
NJ: 8.2 credits (including 1.2 ethics)
NY: 8.0 credits (including 1.0 ethics)
PA: 6.5 credits (including 1.0 ethics)
Register HERE and enter promo code PROBONO
Unchained will contact you with instructions on submitting a Pro Bono Attorney Application
This CLE course provides an overview of New Jersey matrimonial law, covering the major steps of the divorce process — from filing the complaint to addressing issues of equitable distribution, child custody, child support and alimony. The course focuses on arranged/forced marriage and the legal and ethical issues involved.
*The course fee of $150 is waived for admitted attorneys who apply, are approved and commit to representing an Unchained client pro bono as she flees from an arranged/forced marriage.
~ Abed Awad, Esq. | Awad & Khoury, LLP | Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
~ Jamie Berger, Esq. | Argentino & Jacobs, LLC | Rockaway, NJ
~ Emily Carstensen, Esq. | Rubenstein, Meyerson, Fox, Mancinelli, Conte & Bern, PA | Montvale, NJ
~ Ellen Gold, Esq. | Attorney at Law | Clifton, NJ
~ Fraidy Reiss | Founder/Executive Director | Unchained At Last | Westfield, NJ
Unchained thanks the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey for the generous grant that made this CLE course possible.
Attorneys who commit to representing an Unchained client pro bono receive:
~ FREE access to this training course, worth 8+ CLE credits ($150 value)
~ Experience in matrimonial law
~ Mentoring from an experienced matrimonial law attorney
~ Valuable networking opportunities
~ Hours of service toward exemption from mandatory pro bono assignments
~ Unchained funds for expert witnesses and other court-related fees
~ The chance to unchain a woman or a girl from a marriage she did not choose
Attorneys with 5+ years of matrimonial law experience also can take advantage of these opportunities:
~ Mentor another attorney (counts in New Jersey as hours of service toward exemption from mandatory pro bono assignments)
~ Present a portion of an upcoming Unchained CLE course (earns double CLE credits in New Jersey)
Unchained At Last proudly partnered with Tahirih Justice Center and other allies to bring you
HONORING OUR HEARTBEATS: A Tour to End Forced Marriage in the U.S.
Unchained and other organizations invited New Jerseyans to help end forced marriage in the US by joining six-city Heartbeats Tour when it reached New Jersey on December 3 and 4. Dozens of people attended attending the three tour events:
Performance and Community Forum
A presentation of the short film “Caged” and the original play “When We Leave,” written by the authors of the comic book, “Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project.”
Issue Briefing
Geared toward policy makers, foundation officers, members of the legal community and other allies who want to learn more about forced marriage in the US and efforts to build a coordinated, national response to this human rights abuse. Lunch and parking provided.
Did you catch WBGO’s piece about Unchained At Last on Friday evening? Journalist Jon Kalish examined the legislation Unchained wrote to help domestic violence survivors and described the event Unchained hosted last month to celebrate the law’s passage.
Kalish also spoke about Honoring Our Heartbeats, the six-city tour to end forced marriage in the US, which Unchained is helping to bring to New Jersey in December.
If you missed the piece, or you want to hear it again, click here.
Women trapped in arranged/forced marriages in New Jersey now have 11 more allies.
Unchained gave its first training course today to lawyers in New Jersey who are committed to representing Unchained clients pro bono – but do not yet have matrimonial-law experience. Eleven lawyers attended the course, titled “Un-Arrange a Marriage: An Introduction to Family Law, With a Focus on Forced Marriage.”
The 11 attorneys now will be matched with mentors – experienced matrimonial law attorneys – who will guide the them through the complex process of representing a woman who is fleeing an arranged/forced marriage.
The training course was presented by four experienced family law attorneys – Emily Carstensen of Rubenstein Meyerson Fox Conte (and Unchained’s board vice president); Deb Guston of Guston and Guston (and a member of Unchained’s board of advisers); Rebecca Levin of Jerner & Palmer; and Komal Ullah of Weinberger Law Group – and by Unchained’s executive director, Fraidy Reiss.
The free training course, worth eight Continuing Legal Education credits, was made possible by a generous grant from the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey. Unchained will present the course again in the spring.
Unchained’s law to protect domestic violence survivors and all crime victims in New Jersey goes into effect today.
Today nearly 80 people joined Unchained to Celebrate a Legislative Victory.
Honoree: LORETTA WEINBERG • New Jersey Senate Majority Leader
Sponsor of the bill Unchained wrote to help domestic violence survivors, which has been signed into law
Featured speaker: AMY RICHARDS • Feminist, activist, author
Founder of Third Wave Foundation and Soapbox Author of Manifesta, Grassroots and Opting In
The celebration included hors d’oeuvres, wine, live music and a silent auction.
Domestic violence survivors in New Jersey who ask a judge for a final restraining order typically need to prove they have been subjected to a pattern of abuse that is likely to recur. The best way for them to prove that pattern is to show copies of the prior temporary restraining orders they have obtained against their abusers and the accompanying police reports.
However, crime victims previously were required to pay for their own crime records. That was an unfair and unnecessary burden to put on a crime victim.
Also, a victim’s request for crime records itself previously became a public record that nearly anyone, including the abuser, could access. That obviously could have put a victim in additional danger.
Unchained therefore wrote the new law, which says that:
– A crime victim no longer needs to pay for her/his own crime records, and
– A crime victim’s request for her/his own records no longer is public.
Independent Sources, a CUNY TV show, featured Unchained At Last tonight. The segment focused on the law Unchained wrote to help domestic violence survivors, which recently was passed in New Jersey — and which Unchained now is working to pass in New York.
What do gold-and-sapphire bees and tickets to the Tony Award-winning Broadway show Pippin have in common?
They are both among more than 25 items you can win in Unchained’s silent auction, which will culminate on October 19, at Unchained At Last’s Celebrate a Legislative Victory event.
But whether or not you plan to attend the event, you can NOW place bids online for the auction — and win a cut-and-color at Frederic Fekkai’s salon in SoHo or anautographed copy of Adam Driver on the cover of GQ Magazine, while you help women and girls flee or resist arranged/forced marriages.
Don’t let someone else win the Date Night in Montclair, NJ. Click HERE to visit the auction site now.
Two nights at an award-winning bed and breakfast on Martha’s Vineyard. Tickets to the New York Philharmonic. Estee Lauder cosmetics and perfume, and Ann Taylor jewelry and accessories. An Xbox One. A limited-edition photograph by an award-winning photographer, created exclusively for Unchained.
You can win all these and much more — and help women in forced marriages – if you join the Celebrate a Legislative Victory auction.
You are invited to Celebrate a Legislative Victory on Sunday, October 19, from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm, in Montclair, New Jersey.
Honoring Loretta Weinberg, New Jersey Senate Majority Leader and sponsor of the law Unchained wrote to help domestic violence survivors. The law was passed in New Jersey in July.
Featuring Amy Richards, feminist, activist, author, founder of Third Wave Foundation and Soapbox and author of Manifesta, Grassroots and Opting In.
Hors d’oeuvres. Wine. Live music. Silent auction.
Tickets: $75
Sponsorships: $300, $500 or $1,000
For each ticket purchased, $60 is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Domestic violence survivors in New Jersey who ask a judge for a final restraining order typically need to prove they have been subjected to a pattern of abuse that is likely to recur. The best way for them to prove that pattern is to show copies of the prior temporary restraining orders they have obtained against their abusers and the accompanying police reports.
However, crime victims previously were required to pay for their own crime records. That was an unfair and unnecessary burden to put on a crime victim.
Also, a victim’s request for crime records itself previously became a public record that nearly anyone, including the abuser, could access. That obviously could have put a victim in additional danger.
Unchained therefore wrote the new law, which says that:
Details about the law are here.
Unchained is the only nonprofit in the US dedicated to helping women leave and avoid arranged/forced marriages and rebuild their lives.
Many communities in the US practice arranged/forced marriage, and often the women and girls who try to resist or leave those marriages are stymied by religious laws, social customs and financial constraints. Often, too, their families and communities shun them.
In two years, with an almost all-volunteer staff (except a paid part-time social worker), Unchained has helped or is helping more than 85 women and girls to resist or leave arranged/forced marriages. Nearly all of those women and girls are domestic violence survivors — which is why Unchained wrote the new law.
