Alston & Bird Team Honored for Obtaining a Settlement in a Highly Contested Custody Case

Paige A. Geier

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary will honor a team from Alston & Bird for their devoted pro bono representation of “Amber” to obtain a favorable settlement in a complex and highly contested custody case.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is honoring a team from Alston & Bird, including partner Elizabeth Buckel, and associates Chris Williams, Morgan Meyer, and Ashton Andrews for their compassionate and devoted pro bono representation of “Amber” to obtain a favorable settlement in a complex and highly contested custody case.

“Amber” had previously left an abusive relationship, and the parties agreed to joint custody of their daughter.  Several years later, the arrangement was no longer working and came to Sanctuary for Families as a fraught and difficult custody modification case with a savvy, manipulative pro se respondent.  The hard-working team from Alston & Bird joined the case in 2023.  In addition to filing multiple violation petitions and orders to show cause, the team diligently prepared for trial and had weekslong settlement negotiations with the client’s abuser to work out a custody arrangement that was beneficial to both Amber and her daughter.  Ultimately, the team secured a favorable settlement that gave Amber sole legal custody and primary physical custody of her daughter with limited visitation with the father.

The Alston & Bird team juggled difficult aspects of the case with skill and compassion.  At times, they were simultaneously preparing for trial, engaging in settlement negotiations with an aggressive pro se respondent, and providing ongoing emotional support to their client.  The case was scheduled for trial, so the team started to prepare witnesses, draft direct examination questions, and engage in pretrial discovery.  Settlement negotiations were extremely complicated and, at times, hostile.  The team sent myriad emails, had dozens of phone calls, and – in a three-week span – engaged in five separate settlement talks with the abuser in an attempt to negotiate a custody arrangement.  Associate Chris Williams emphasized the challenge of balancing the various aspects of the case, especially while managing client expectations and ensuring the court system was not being used to work out personal grievances.

This was Chris’ first case with Sanctuary for Families, and he is excited to continue partnering with Sanctuary in the future.  Chris learned a great deal from this case, including key litigation skills like preparing for trial, negotiating settlements, and connecting with clients through empathy and patience.  Chris said this case taught him to be a zealous advocate for his clients, especially after witnessing the systems and institutions survivors interact with.  In this case, the team was able to use their “alternative dispute resolution tools to gain the best outcome for our client, but also for [her] family and future going forward.”

Erin Mears, Senior Staff Attorney at Sanctuary for Families, praised Chris for his continued empathy, compassion, and patience when working with Amber.  She remarked on how empowering it is for survivors to have “a team of fantastic, dedicated, conscientious lawyers” behind them.  It was especially important for Amber and had the crucial effect of shifting the power dynamic in the case – once the Alston & Bird team was brought on, it was no longer a David and Goliath scenario where the abuser could continue to exert control through the litigation process.  Erin commended the team’s dedication throughout the difficult process of preparing for trial: “Elizabeth and the team were responsive, detail-oriented, and hard-working throughout the case.  They were thorough and well-prepared in each document drafting, filing, and court appearance, and they were particularly attentive to the client and her daughter, taking special care of their mental health and well-being.”

Amber expressed her gratitude to the team after they secured her a favorable outcome.  She wrote: “There are no real words that can encompass how grateful and fortunate N and I are to have such an incredible team on our side.  I know that at times I have been one to overreact emotionally and perhaps illogical at times.  My intentions were never to be difficult but know it was always from a place of fear and desperation.  I truly have struggled in the last year the most and lived in a strange dark place where I felt almost not human.  You all have been so kind and generous with your humanity towards me and forever I will be grateful and appreciative.”

Sanctuary is incredibly grateful for the invaluable pro bono work of this amazing and supportive team.

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Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 8, 2024, as we honor Alston & Bird’s outstanding pro bono work.

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Alston & Bird Attorneys Help Mother and Child Escape Abuse

Amy Barton

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a dedicated team from Alston & Bird LLP who obtained an order of protection and a negotiated joint custody agreement for a survivor of domestic violence with a young child.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a dedicated team of pro bono attorneys from Alston & Bird LLP who obtained an order of protection and a negotiated joint custody agreement for a survivor of domestic violence and a mother of a young child. The team includes associates Kristen Kuan, Elizabeth Buckel, and Jenna Jones. Associate Ravi Shah also provided assistance to the team.

The client is a survivor of physical and emotional domestic violence at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. On repeated occasions, the client’s strength allowed her to escape her abuser. Her abuser’s status and wealth, however, enabled him to engage in campaigns of harassment and terror that made it almost impossible for the client to extricate herself from the relationship without fear of losing custody of her child. Ultimately, the client and her daughter fled, moving to a confidential location.

Two and half years ago, the intrepid Alston & Bird team got involved to assist the client. The client’s abuser proved quite litigious, contesting Alston & Bird’s efforts at every step. The Alston & Bird team wrote countless oppositions to meritless Orders to Show Cause, including ones that sought changes in custody and another requesting the client’s mental health records. Numerous hours were spent negotiating with opposing counsel over issues relating to visitation and childcare. The parties litigated everything from drug testing protocols to production of data. The Alston & Bird team witnessed first-hand how uneven the playing field can sometimes be when one of the parties is a victim of domestic violence and has suffered emotional abuse.

One of the most difficult challenges that the Alston & Bird team faced was a damaging forensic evaluation. The Alston & Bird team hired a respected expert who meticulously rebutted the report and highlighted its deficiencies. The expert’s work helped in ultimately leading to the successful resolution of the case.

Although Alston & Bird’s litigation skills excelled in this matter, it was their compassion and patience with the client that make them most deserving of this award. The client had endured so much, and the team did not want to victimize her again, so they worked to be as sensitive to the client’s feelings as possible, empathizing with her and attempting to humanize the process throughout. The client and the Alston & Bird team worked together for hours and hours in preparation for her testimony at trial, with the team taking care to step back when needed to allow the client to process her trauma. With Alston & Bird’s continuing counseling and support, the client became prepared to testify.

In January 2021, Alston & Bird settled the case that served the client and avoided the trauma and risk of a trial. Alston & Bird recognized this case as an example where “the client had nowhere to go” and “Sanctuary provided that necessary support for [the client].”

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Join us at our Above & Beyond virtual celebration on Oct. 26, 2021, as we honor Alston & Bird’s outstanding pro bono work. Click here to RSVP for free.

If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

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Amy Barton is Counsel in the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. She is also a member of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Council.