Registration, Networking, and Breakfast Buffet

Please join us and meet with your colleagues at our breakfast buffet, featuring the following:

Assorted muffins, danishes and breads, scrambled eggs, bacon, and rosemary fingerling potatoes.

Coffee, tea, and assorted juices.

Welcome and Business

Keynote Speaker: Associate Justice Dawn H. Beam

Justice Beam has been pivotal in gathering community resources where state resources were lacking to benefit families at risk of being involved in the child welfare system. Mississippi has seen a significant reduction in numbers of children in state custody between 2017 and 2022 because of these projects and programs.

Justice Dawn H. Beam joined the Mississippi Supreme Court on February 16, 2016. Gov. Phil Bryant appointed her to fill the unexpired term of former Justice Randy Pierce. She is the fourth woman to serve on the state’s highest court, and the first woman appointed from the Southern District.

Justice Beam, the daughter of a minister, was born in Marks in the Mississippi Delta and as a child lived in numerous communities across the state. She graduated from Caldwell High School in Columbus, Mississippi. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business from the University of Mississippi, and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1989.

She has spent most of her legal career in the Pine Belt area. In her early career, she worked extensively in child support enforcement. She served for three years as county prosecutor for Lamar County. She was elected to and served for five years as a chancellor of the Tenth Chancery District, which includes Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River and Perry counties. Her work as a chancellor and as a county prosecutor included protection of abused and neglected children. After her appointment to the Supreme Court, she continued work for the protection of children as a member of the Commission on Children’s Justice.

She makes her home in Sumrall. She is married to Dr. Stephen Beam. They have five children. She is a member of Sumrall United Methodist Church in Lamar County. Justice Beam and her husband are very active in their community as founding members of a non-profit, PineBelt360, with a mission of connecting citizens across racial, denominational, and economic lines to address education, medical, and other challenges in the pine belt area.

Break and Snacks

Sliced seasonal fruit and berries with key lime dip, fresh vegetables with hummus and dip, trail mix, and fruit infused water.

When You Can Withdraw as Counsel and Other Ethical Conundrums: Jordan Putnam, JD

Jordan Putnam will be speaking on the ethical requirements when a parental defense attorney in a child welfare case must withdraw, including whether a motion is required. Other ethical scenarios and considerations in parental representation will also be discussed.

Jordan is a Southern California native who moved to Utah in 2006 to complete his undergraduate education at BYU and to later attend law school in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining Lokken & Putnam, he worked at a boutique criminal law firm in Salt Lake County where he spent extensive time in state and federal courts, on both felony and misdemeanor criminal cases.

Jordan graduated with honors from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. During law school he gained criminal and family law experience through various internships, including working with the public defenders' office and district attorney's office. Jordan received the highest grades in both his Juvenile Justice and Scientific Forensic Evidence classes. He is fluent in Spanish. Jordan's practice areas include, Family Law, Parental Defense, Criminal Defense, and Juvenile Defense.

Jordan serves as Chairman on the UFDA Board, and actively participates in projects to improve the child welfare system.

Differences and Distinctions Between Termination of Parental Rights Actions in District and Juvenile Court: JAson Richards, JD

Jason Richards will be speaking on the termination of parental rights process, and the differences between the processes and required findings in the District Courts and the Juvenile Courts in Utah.

Jason is the current PDA President-Elect and represents the 2nd District. He grew up in Ogden, Utah and graduated from Ogden High School in 2000. He attended undergrad and law school at the University of Utah. Before law school, he worked for a number of years in politics, managing field operations for several state-wide initiatives and successful congressional campaigns. After graduating law school, Jason worked for two years for Weber County public defenders, mainly on capital homicide cases. He is now in private practice with offices in Ogden and Farmington. He has had a parental defense contract since 2012, is a member of Weber and Davis County Bar Association, as well as the juvenile and bankruptcy sections of the Utah State Bar, the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers Forum. In 2016, he was awarded the trial attorney of the year award by the PDA. Jason has extensive experience at the trial and appellate level in defending the rights of parents in child welfare matters. He lives in Farmington with his wife and 3 kids. When not at work, he can usually be found skiing, running, gardening, cooking, and playing with his kids.

Interviewing Child Witnesses: Erin E. Byington, JD

Erin Byington will present on interviewing and examining child witnesses in child welfare cases. Juvenile brain development and accuracy in recall will be included in the discussion, as well as appropriate techniques to increase viability of child testimony in various age groups.

Erin Byington is the Executive Director and handles the administrative responsibilities for the UFDA.

Erin has been a licensed attorney, practicing law in the State of Utah since 2011 in all aspects of family law, criminal defense, juvenile defense, DCFS matters, family law, commercial litigation, business formation, estate planning and probate. Erin is a founding partner of Byington & Goble, PLLC with a primary office in Logan, Utah and a satellite office in Salt Lake City. Early in Erin’s career, she participated in DCFS matters under a conflict contract for parental defense for about 5 years, and has continued to provide private parental and juvenile defense since.

Erin is a member of the Utah State Bar, Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Utah Family Defenders Association, and Utah Association for Justice. Erin has been selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Stars Honoree in 2020, 2021, and 2022; likewise, Erin’s firm has been selected as Best of Northern Utah in the areas of Family Law, Criminal Defense, and overall Law Firm for 2021, with repeat awards in 2022. When not at work, Erin can be found spending time with her husband and two young daughters.

Lunch and Networking

Join us for the lunch buffet featuring the following:

Chicken Tortilla soup, corn salad with black beans, tortillas, chipotle caesar dressing, corn and flour tortilla taco bar, spinach and mushroom enchiladas, tres leches cake and warn churros.

Break and Snack

Roasted peanuts and cracker hack, 3 kinds of fresh popcorn, and pretzel bites with cinnamon sugar and nutella.

2023 Legislative Update

Adam Trupp of the Indigent Defense Commission will discuss recent changes in legislation impacting child welfare cases, along with successes, failures, and hopes for the next legislative session.

Adam is the Deputy Director of the Utah Indigent Defense Commission. He started with the IDC in January 2020 and his focus is on Juvenile Court defense. Prior to this role, he spent eleven years working in different positions in the Utah Child Welfare system before moving on to a different type of work. During those years he was an Attorney guardian ad litem, a juvenile court administrator for child welfare at the Utah AOC and then director of policy and planning for the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. After leaving DCFS, he worked for the Utah Association of Counties as legal counsel and CEO until 2019.

Adam is the father of two amazingly talented and athletic children. It is a mystery to he and his wife where the children got their athletic skills. They are both comforted, however, by the fact their children bear a strong resemblance to their parents and that babies being switched at birth occurs very rarely.

The Art of the Close: Alexa Mareschal, JD

Alexandra Mareschal of the Indigent Appellate Defense Division will discuss effective closing arguments and those that fail in preserving appellate issues.

Alexandra Mareschal is an appellate attorney specializing in family and child welfare law. Since graduating from the S.J. Quinney College of Law, she has been a full-time appellate attorney at Zimmerman Booher and clerked for Justice Paige Petersen at the Utah Supreme Court. Recently, she joined the Indigent Appellate Defense Division of the IDC as the Senior Child Welfare Appellate Attorney and looks forward to improving the child welfare justice system to better serve Utah's families.

She prefers to go by Alexa even though a certain ecommerce titan has since usurped the name for their AI.

Registration, Networking, and Breakfast Buffet

Join us while visiting with colleagues at our breakfast buffet featuring:

Steel-cut oatmeal bar with nuts, dried fruit, and brown sugar, bacon, pork sausage, and belgium waffles with syrups and whipped cream.

Coffee, Teas, and assorted juices

Special Guest - Senator Wayne Harper

Introduction and thank you to the Senator for his valuable work in child welfare and family preservation law. There will be a brief discussion of SB56 as passed in the 2023 legislative session, which clarifies the importance of preferential considerations for kinship placements, along with a thank you from IDC and UFDA for his work.

TBD

Appellate Case Law Update: Emily Adams, JD

Emily Adams of the Appellate Group will walk us through updates in appellate child welfare law during this past year.

Ms. Adams is an appellate attorney based in Utah. Her practice at The Appellate Group is focused exclusively on appeals. She counsels with clients to determine their best strategy on appeal and strategizes with clients and attorneys about preparing for an appeal while in district court.

Apart from appellate briefs, in her practice she has submitted amicus briefs before the United States Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit, and the Utah Supreme Court; she has represented criminal defendants and civil clients on appeal to the Utah appellate courts; she has drafted motions for permission to file an interlocutory appeal in the Utah appellate courts; and she has filed petitions for certiorari.

She is licensed to practice law in Utah and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. She loves being enormously tall, being a celiac in a bread-filled world, trying to do a pull-up, and dragging her kids on hiking trips.

Mid Morning Break and Awards

Awards and Break

Please join us in celebrating our peers that stand out in child welfare law and parental defense.

Snacks include: Seasonal fruits and berries, greek yogurts, granola bars, power bars, and fruit infused waters

Professionalism and Civility Challenge: Grant Dickinson

Grant Dickinson will lead us in a teaching challenge on Professionalism and Civility

Grant Dickinson has been a member of the Parental Defense Alliance since 2010 and served as the President of the PDA Board of Directors from 1026-2018. He is now an emeritus member of the board. Grant’s practice focuses mainly in Utah County and like many of our members focuses on Parental Defense, Criminal Defense, and Family Law related cases. Grant achieved the Parental Defense Alliance Appellate Attorney of the Year Award in 2012. While studying at Willamette University, Grant served each year on the executive board of Willamette University’s Public Interest Law Project. Prior to Law School, Grant was employed at the Fourth District Court as Deputy Clerk in Commissioner Patton’s Court and as a Deputy Probation Officer.

Lunch Buffet and Networking

Please stay and visit with colleagues for our fabulous lunch buffet featuring:

Buttermilk biscuits, garden salad, house baked beans, coleslaw with poppyseed dressing, baked mac & cheese, corn on the cobb with chili butter, BBQ baked chicken on the bone, beef brisket, and two kinds of pie (chef’s choice) for dessert.

Introduction to National Association of Counsel for Children: Dianne Balmain, JD

Dianne Balmain, the newly appointed Utah representative of the NACC will introduce us to the NACC and how it benefits those practicing in child welfare law