Help for military families, assisted ­reproductive technologies the focus of ABA Family Law spring conference

Leading practitioners and professionals from across the country will discuss important developments for family law lawyers during the 2017 Spring CLE Conference hosted by the American Bar Association Section of Family Law on May 3-6 in Savannah, Ga.

The conference features a full day of programming aimed toward JAG officers assisting military families with family law issues on May 3. There are also three full days of programming for new and seasoned family law practitioners on topics, such as child support, financial planning, negotiation, assisted reproductive technology and many more.

Program highlights include:

• “Domestic Violence in the Military” — This presentation addresses the effect of domestic violence in military domestic cases. The presenter will discuss military protective orders, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Special Victims Counsel Program and the effect of 18 U.S.C. 922(g), the “Lautenberg Amendment,” in military domestic violence cases.

• “Reel to Real: Legal Ethics and Professionalism in the Movies” — Movies often appear to reflect reality, but the differences between the way the legal world appears on film and the way it looks to lawyers in the real world are often striking. This program will examine a variety of ethical scenarios that have been portrayed in “reel” life under both the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and through the lens of Hollywood’s filmmakers.

• “Trans-Parent ART – LGBTQ Issues in ART” — When the gender identity of the participants in assisted reproduction differs from the expected, based solely upon their biological contribution, additional complexity is added to the legal issues. Our parentage laws were not written with transgender parents in mind; challenges faced navigating these laws is the focus of this session.