Kelsey & Trask's Justin Kelsey will be one of the presenters at the upcoming 2014 Collaborative Law Training: presents an Introduction to Collaborative Law Practice 2014: An Interdisciplinary, Interactive, Step-by-Step Training  to Offer A Better Approach to Conflict Resolution. This is a three day introductory training taking place on September 11, 12 & 13, 2014  which will proceed step-by-step through the collaborative process. The program is designed for social workers, psychologists, and other licensed mental health professionals, financial professionals, family law attorneys and civil law practitioners. This training meets the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) standards for trainers and interdisciplinary training. FIND OUT MORE or REGISTER HERE!

For 9 days this past July, Valerie Kua, an associate at Kelsey & Trask, P.C., had the opportunity  to visit the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (formerly Burma) through the Seed of Hope Foundation .  As part of this visit, on Friday, July 18, Valerie presented a lecture on the American legal system at the University of Mawlamyine. Myanmar is the second largest country in Southeast Asia bordering Laos, Thailand, China, Bangladesh and India.  Then known as Burma, Myanmar became an independent nation in 1948 and has spent much of that time in civil war.  Today Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, though the recent lifting of economic sanctions has given the country new opportunities for growth. The University of Mawlamyine is the third largest university in the country, with approximately 8,000 undergraduates.  Two hundred University professors, lecturers and students attended Valerie's Introduction to the American Legal System lecture, where she expla

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has released another opinion that addresses some of the questions still surrounding the Alimony Reform Act of 2011. Zaleski v. Zaleski - SJC 11391 (2014). In Zaleski, the Appeals Court addressed four primary issues in the lower court's decision: Rehabilitative Alimony ordered instead of General Term Alimony - AFFIRMED Husband's bonus income not included in alimony amount calculation - REMANDED Wife ordered to maintain life insurance for her child related obligations - REMANDED Property Division not exactly equal - AFFIRMED We've summarized the take-away points from this decision: 1. Trial Judges have even more DISCRETION now Footnote 13 confirms what many practitioners have been saying about the new Act:   "The legislative history clearly shows that the broad discretion judges historically have had in making awards of alimony was not affected by the Alimony Reform Act of 2011, St. 2011, c. 124 (alimony