All Family Legal

Let's kick off Women's History Month with an evergreen message from the honorable Justice Ginsburg. #change #quote #RBG

Assembly Bill 218, which was introduced by Assemblymember Chris Ward, revives legislation (SB741) aimed to protect the privacy and safety of transgender and nonbinary Californians who seek to change their name and gender on legal documents. One of the ways the bill proposes to protect California’s transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) citizens is to allow them to update their marriage certificates and their children’s birth certificates without having a two page certif...icate that identifies their old name and gender. The original idea for this bill came from the experience of one of Amira’s clients. While she was able to get a marriage certificate for the client, it was an unnecessarily cumbersome process, so she worked with Equality California to draft a fix to the law and get it into legislators’ hands. This bill represents a great step in the direction of respecting people who experience gender outside the mainstream binary construct, and affording them the same dignity most people automatically enjoy.

In light of the recent severe weather in Southern states and along the East coast, we’ve chosen All About Weather, by Huda Harajli, MA as our #bookoftheweek. This little reader features diverse children and is full of fun facts, cute illustrations and great information about the four seasons and the wonderful world of weather. Have fun with this one!... . . . #bookoftheweek #wellnesswednesday #reading #childrensbook #weather #kidsbooks #rainbow #snowstorm #sunshine #familymatters

This week we remember the late John Lewis, a courageous civil rights leader, dubbed "a saint" and "the conscience of Congress". Lewis was known for defying unjust laws with the conviction of justice, and he suffered multiple arrests and beatings for his efforts. Lewis was at the helm of each battle in the fight for freedom, from boycotts, to sit-ins, to Freedom Rides, and led the March on Selma alongisde Dr. King and others. He was instrumental in ending segregation and secur...ing voting rights for African-Americans, and he continued his legacy of standing for equal rights through the tenure of his career. Most memorable and poignant is his famously coined term "good trouble" in his call to always do what's right, despite the immediate consequences . His illustrious career inspires us to demand justice in the face of opposition, to wrestle change from the grip of the status quo. He said Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part. He certainly did his. #mondaymotivation

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Today, we are featuring Jodi ("Jo") Argentino! Jo is a fierce advocate for LGBTQ families in all of their forms. Jo has been practicing family law in New Jersey and New York for nearly two decades. She handles complex family law issues involving LGBTQ+ parents and children, multi-parent or partner families, and neurodiverse families and parents and/or children with mental health or intellectual disabilities. She particularly enjoys her Guardian ad Litem and Parent Coordina...tion work given the child-centric nature of those roles. She has recently completed her Masters of Science in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology, focusing on the neurobiological/developmental effects on young children when they suffer trauma, such as neglect or separation from a known caregiver and completed her Capstone project on the importance of affirming LGBTQ+ youth in custody matters. Jo is also an extremely active member in her local and national bar associations, is a member of AFCC (national and local), and she was recognized in 2015 as one of the National LGBT Bar Association’s Best LGBT Attorneys Under 40. Jo is a proud parent in a blended family complete with multiple co-parents and amazing children who are neurodiverse and gender diverse, all of whom inspire the work she does every day. On a personal note, Jo has become a cherished colleague and friend of Amira's over the years getting to know each other through the National LGBT Bar Association's Family Law Institute. Though they find time to catch up on the personal, talking "shop" with Jo is always an inspiration to Amira on how fervent, passionate and qualified she is to protect families in all of their forms. Thank you, Jo, for all that you do!

A is for Ally, Q is for #queer...The GayBCs is our children's book of the week! It fosters awareness of a spectrum of identities & orientations. It's important for children and adults to be exposed to queerness in all its forms because visibility is a precursor to a safe and affirming society for all people. Thank you for this special contribution, M. L. Webb! [Photo: Sharon McCutcheon]

There's no greater gift than the present moment. Good morning. #motivationmonday #budhha #quote

There's no greater gift than the present moment. Good morning! #motivationmonday #budhha #quote

Today, we are introducing you to Celeste Fiore! Celeste has a long history of advocacy for the LGBTQ community in general and for the nonbinary community in particular. They primarily focus their work on family law, civil rights litigation, special education and anti-bullying work. Most recently, Celeste and their firm have taken on the high profile case of Ashley Moore, a Black transgender woman who was found dead in April with indications of murder, but whom the police h...ad largely ignored. They are representing Ashley's mother and brother in connection with her death. In addition to their tireless efforts in litigation and advocacy, Celeste also often conducts trainings on LGBTQ and nonbinary competency to businesses and organizations as well as various bar associations locally and nationally. They were named a New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and were recognized as one of the LGBT Bar Association’s Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40. On a personal note, Celeste and Amira became fast friends through conferences and the National LGBT Bar Association's Family Law Institute. Celeste's quick wit, fiery spirit and wry humor are a pleasure to be around. Amira has really enjoyed getting to know Celeste both as a friend and an inspiring activist. Thank you, Celeste, for all that you do!

"What matters most for children is not the make-up of a #family. What matters most is the quality of relationships within it, the support of their wider community and the attitudes of the society in which they live." http://ow.ly/Z0kg50C0hTe

Adopting or hoping to adopt? Here's a great picture book to introduce the idea to your kiddos, featuring...a bunny! Wolfie The Bunny, written by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah OHora is our children's #bookoftheweek!

Don't miss this eye-opening conversation between Amira and family law attorney Warren Shiell as they cover #transgender issues in family law such as name changes, legal custody issues for gender non-conforming minor children, custody issues for parents who transition, the effect of re-assignment on marital status and more. http://ow.ly/OdsO50BQKFH

Today’s my first remote video court hearing!! Thank goodness we’re living in the future! Fingers crossed that technology works in our favor! #virtualcourt #technology #remote #workfromhome #adayinthelife #attorneyatlaw