A conversation with one of the candidates

One of the candidates for one of the five Regional Counsel positions contacted the author of this blog wanting to chat about dependency issues prior to his interview with the JNC. I won't disclose who the gentleman is at this point, but I can say that it was a very worthwhile phone conversation that I just had with him. If he ends up being named as one of the Regional Counsels, the publication of this blog and starting DependencyDefense.com will have been well worth it, in my opinion.

Why? Because in the process of reviewing the candidates in the two posts below, it is clear that those with significant dependency defense experience are in the minority. Given the scope of the duties of the Regional Counsels, this is no surprise. All the more reason, then, that I appreciate a candidate who is making efforts to get up to speed on the challenges and value of effective defense counsel for parents in dependency cases.

Whoever gets these jobs will be faced with a wide array of responsibilities, all of which profoundly affect the clients the Regional Counsels are charged with representing (more on that at the DependencyDefense.com site). Just one category of those responsibilites is dependency cases, and I respect the candidate who seeks out expertise in the field to inform him or her.

The particular candidate with whom I spoke was articulate and educated on dependency issues already, but seemed to appreciate the point of view that I, as a current member of the dependency defense bar, could present to him.

Once the finalists are announced, I'd be more than happy to have similar conversations with those still up for consideration. The author of this blog can be reached at cam -- at -- dependencydefense.com (write the email address in the usual way; it is written here the way it is to foil the spambots).