Crossing Borders: Managing Hague Child Abduction Cases from Start to Finish

This is a free program
Format: Online Only (will be recorded)

Faculty

• Matt Barach, Esq., Barach Law Group
• Elizabeth Crowley, Esq., Bowditch & Dewey
• Rachel Deering, Esq., Verrill Dana LLP
• Wendy Hickey, Esq., Brick, Jones, McBrien & Hickey LLP

Program Description:

Proceedings under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“Hague Abduction cases”) present issues that rarely arise in traditional domestic relations practice. Practitioners must navigate an international treaty and its implementing federal statute, questions of foreign law, an expedited litigation schedule, and a body of federal and international case law, often while coordinating evidence and witnesses across multiple countries.

This program will take practitioners through a Hague Abduction case from the initial client consultation through trial.  Because sometimes trial is only the beginning, this program will demonstrate the procedures all the way through appeal. Panelists will address the issues that arise at each stage, including habitual residence, wrongful removal or retention, rights of custody, defenses to return, emergency relief, discovery, foreign evidence and witnesses, working with foreign counsel and the U.S. Department of State.  Along with preparing for an expedited evidentiary hearing, and enforcing a return order.

The panelist drawing on their experience litigating Hague cases at both the trial and appellate levels, including before the First Circuit, will discuss the practical and strategic decisions that arise throughout a case, including how decisions made early in the litigation can shape the record, the evidentiary hearing, and any appeal that follows.

Whether you represent the parent seeking the return of a child or the parent opposing return, this program will provide a practical roadmap for handling a Hague Abduction case from start to finish.