|
|
Recommended Lawyers in the United States
Unless otherwise noted, these lawyers
have been mentioned by people who have had good experiences with them, and they
have experience with Japan Family Law cases. Even if they are not licensed
in your area, it may be worth it to pay for some advice, or at least to ask for
a reference in your area of someone experienced in Japan related cases.
Please tell us about anyone else you recommend.
California
-
William H. Hilton. Santa
Clara, CA. Mr. Hilton has been called the Guru of International parental
abduction. He reportedly entered legal mythology years ago as having every
worldwide reported child abduction case on his website. It's unclear how much
experience he has with Japan, but he is certainly a good place to start if you
are in California.
- Keith Simpson, Los Angeles,
CA. Mr. Simpson studied law in Tokyo for a few years, is married to a
Japanese woman, and has a young child. He is known to have experience in
divorce and custody cases in California against a Japanese spouse/parent.
Florida
- Lawrence S. Katz; Miami,
FL. Mr. Katz is the Chair of the Family Law section of the ABA Committee on
International Law, a Fellow in the International Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers, a mentor for the International Child Abduction Attorneys Network and
works with ICAAN and the NCMEC. He has reportedly handled over 100 child
abduction cases and has been successful in "recovering" children from Turkey
(pre-Hague), Iran, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Nebraska
- Chris Vacanti; Omaha, NB. Mr.
Vacanti has
experience in international custody law and successfully argued in Douglas
county court that the UCCJEA should not be applied to Japan, primarily due to
Japan's non-recognition of the Hague Convention, and in the case of active
duty US military status.
New Hampshire
- Patricia A. Frim; Rye, NH; Ms. Frim
has been involved as a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in at least one divorce with a
Japanese spouse, and so has already researched and been educated about
Japanese law. (603) 436-4939.
New York
Oregon
- Brad Lechman-Su;
Johnson Renshaw & Lechman-su; Portland,
OR. Mr. Su has worked on at least two Japan family law related cases and has
traveled to Japan personally to investigate Japanese family law. We have
heard only good references from both of the US parents in these cases.
- Katherine Roots; 1500 SW 1st Ave. Suite 630; Portland, OR ;
(503)226-7986. Actually no one we know has used Ms. Roots' services yet, she was
referred to someone by a person who thought she might be familiar with
international abduction cases and/or cases involving Japan. Please let
us know if you have any experience with her. Website is unknown.
Washington D.C. and Maryland
-
Stephen J. Cullen of
Miles & Stockbridge - Mr.
Cullen specializes in international custody cases and also works with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. His
own child was once abducted so has a personal interest in helping parents in
similar situations.
Washington State
- Jeffrey Renshaw; Mr. Renshaw is a partner of Brad
Lechman-Su (see Oregon) and is licensed in both Oregon and Washington.
We know that he has been working on at least one Japanese family law
related case and would obviously work closely with his partner.
Other Resources to Find Lawyers
- The SPARC site has a recommended
list of lawyers in the US.
- www.martindale.com. This
online directory allows you to search by location and type of practice, even
for Japan. Use the "Location/Area of Practice" tab.
|
