Family Law Special Master Training

Registration begins at 8:00 AM, training from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, and Happy Hour begins at 5:00 PM.

Event description:

Former Referees Mary Madden and James Street will be the primary trainers for this Family Law Special Master training. They will explore how the use of special masters (Rule 53 Neutrals) in family law has evolved since its first use 25 years ago, and how it is a valuable tool in case management. The Rule authorizing the Special Master’s appointment has not been amended to reflect these changes. There is also no standardized training for Special Masters.

 This Family Law Special Master training will explore how the use of special masters (Rule 53 Neutrals) in family law has evolved since its first use 25 years ago, and how it is a valuable tool in case management.  The Rule authorizing the Special Master’s appointment has not been amended to reflect these changes.  There is also no standardized training for Special Masters.

Special Masters are being appointed in family court cases across the state to address complex family law matters such as complicated or sensitive financial disputes, challenging financial calculations and social issues such as coercive control, substance abuse, resist-refuse dynamics or mental health which the Court does not have sufficient time to address timely and effectively.

This training is for professionals who are considering serving in this role or who have served this role and want to put more structure in their practice.  Since Rule 53 Neutrals are appointed in complex family court cases, it is recommended the registrants have completed the 40-hour family mediation training and have at least 10 years of professional experience in family law.

This training will explore how Rule 53 Neutrals fit in effective case management, and when appointment is appropriate to efficiently and effectively assist the Court.  The training will address best practices for appointment, developing procedures, conducting hearings, writing decisions and reporting to the Court.

This will be a one-day training and participants may attend in person or remotely. A social gathering will be held afterwards at the Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC in Plymouth, Minnesota.

As a result of this training, participants will be better to:

1. Identify actions/orders that fall within and outside of the scope of authority granted to a Special Master under Minn. R. Civ. Proc. 53.

2. Draft Special Master appointment orders.

3. Develop case management procedure for a hypothetical case.

4. Conduct a hearing.

5. Critique and edit sample reports, recommendations and orders to make them clear, effective, and helpful for families.

   
   

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I have to be a lawyer to attend? No. Rule 53 Neutrals do not have to be lawyers and there are complex family law matters which may be better suited with a mental health or other professional.

2. Do I have to be a Rule 114 Neutral to attend? No. Special Masters are not governed by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Ethics Rules, although we recommend that registrants have completed the 40-hour family mediation training.

3. Do I have to attend in person? No, this training follows the AFCC best practices of being hybrid.

4. Is there a roster for Special Masters? No. The AFCC intends to maintain a list on its website of successful attendees of the training.

5. Can I get continuing legal education or other training credits? We will be applying for such credits.

6. Is there a minimum number of years of experience I need to attend? No, but we recommend you have 10 years of professional family law experience.

7. How is this different than the Parenting Consultant training? This training will not address family law and procedure, developmental issues of training or other matters covered in that training. This training focuses solely on the use of special masters.