The 2011 schedule for the Pasadena Bar Association's Family Law Section monthly meetings will start off with Judge Thomas Trent Lewis, who will speak tomorrow regarding changes to the Family Law. Judge Lewis sits in Family Court of the Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse and is a frequent guest speaker at seminars provided to Certified Family Law Specialists. The topic that Judge Lewis chose to discuss will be: "The New World of Evidentiary Hearings Under Family Code 217 - Do's and Don'ts. We expect Judge's Lewis' lecture to be particularly important to Pasadena Family Law attorneys who are interested in the changes to the Family Code pursuant to the recommendations of the Elkins Task Force. The relevant changes will require Family Courts to allow more evidentiary hearings.
Judge Thomas Trent Lewis became a Certified Family Law Specialist in 1985 and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 1988. He was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2006 and is assigned to a family law department in the Central District. He currently serves on the CJER Family Law Education Committee and the Judicial Council Family Juvenile Law Advisory Committee. He has taught on family law issues for legal seminars hosted by AAML, CPA Education Foundation, CEB and CJER. Judge Lewis also taught at the 2009 FLRC and AFLC seminars. He is Vice President of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts California Chapter.The Family Law Secton's 2011 lineup of guest speakers includes numerous judges and Family Law Attorneys who are considered to be at the top of the profession. A committee was formed by Donald P. Schweitzer last summer with the goal of putting together a top notch program. Patrick Bagdeserians, an associate attorney at Schweitzer Law Partners was able to book most of the speakers by the end of the summer. By putting together a lineup of top guest speakers with cutting edge topics in Family Law, the committee is hoping to provide quality continuing education for all Family Law Attorneys practicing in Pasadena.