Are you considering taking on Guardian ad Litem work as part of your practice? Has a friendly family court commissioner expressed their desire to appoint you as a GAL to push forward a case malingering on their docket? This program offers one way to complete the eight-hour training requirement of GAL Standard 14.0.
2025’s 8-hour GAL training is made up of talks originally given in 2024 by GAL professionals at the Missouri Bar’s Family Law Conference and MOSOLO Small Firm Conference. These programs cover an array of issues designed to expose prospective GALs to core responsibilities of the role. Included within are descriptions of the basic functions of a GAL, inspiring words about the importance of GALs in the family court system, developmental perspectives on communicating with a child about their best interests, guidance on how to interview children and present recommendations to the court, and insight on successfully navigating new cultural territory.
Whether you’re a GAL greenhorn or old hand, family law practitioner or simply curious about how to knock out several CLE requirements at once, we invite you to spend the day learning how to represent those who are too young to advocate for their own interests and contemplating what it means to differentiate what a client wants from what you believe the best legal outcome is for them. These skills not only have applications across practice settings but touch on the very heart of the lawyer’s role in court and in society at large.
8:30-8:45 a.m. | CLE Attorney introduction
This brief introduction guides viewers through learning techniques to stay engaged through eight long hours of computer-based education. It also primes key ideas that will be brought up throughout the day. Finally, it describes how to use a few educational rubrics for tracking your development as a GAL and ensuring that what you learn during the program is internalized and put into practice.
Speaker: Cody Dickerson, The Missouri Bar, Jefferson City
8:45-9:32 a.m. | Square peg round hole: A GAL pep talk
Originally presented at our 2024 Annual Family Law Conference
In Square Peg Round Hole, the Honorable Sue Crane provides a motivating introduction to the demands of GAL work. With a mix of personal insight, TikToks, and television clips, Judge Crane explores the basic conundrums of passing a child through the gauntlet of legal proceedings. The talk touches upon aspects of GAL Standards 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, and 11.0.
Speaker: Hon. Sue Crane, 13th Judicial Circuit, Fulton
9:32-10:22 a.m. | Guardian ad Litem standards and best practices
Originally presented at our 2024 Annual Family Law Conference
GALs Austin Williamson and Brittnee Hill provide a high-level overview of Missouri's GAL standards. Crisscrossing the entirety of the standards, Austin and Brittnee touch on several key tasks GALs should do consistently and diligently, including party interviews and home and school visits. Finally, they address the proper scope of recommendations that GALs are required to make to the court.
Speakers: Austin E. Williamson, Rooney Mcbride & Smith, PLLC, Springfield; Brittnee L. Hill, Douglas, Haun & Heidemann, Bolivar
10:22-10:30 AM | Break
10:30-11:17 a.m. | Dealing with empowered older children
Originally presented at our 2024 Annual Family Law Conference
This is the first talk of the day given by therapists: Kevin Chafin and Erika Ottolini. It provides an overview of child development, especially the experiences of teenagers. By keeping these biological and psychological factors in perspective, a GAL can better encourage participation of resistant, older teens in family law court processes. Addresses aspects of GAL standards 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, and 9.0.
Speakers: Kevin Chafin, Kevin Chafin LPC Inc., Kansas City; Erika Ottolini, Artemis Counseling Services LLC, St. Louis
11:17 a.m.-12:06 p.m. | Cultural compass
The consequences of unexamined cultural differences can range from representation hiccoughs to lapses in diligence that disrupt not only the child and the GAL but all other involved litigants. But where’s a GAL to start? In “Cultural Compass” the Director of Mizzou’s Child and Family Justice Clinic, Danielle Dodd, describes concrete practice tools GALs can adopt to discover, acknowledge, and address cultural similarities and differences. Addresses aspects of GAL standards 4.0 and 9.0.
Speaker: Prof. Danielle Dodd, University of Missouri, Columbia
12:06-1:10 p.m. | Lunch
1:10-2:03 p.m. | No abuse or neglect… What's a Guardian ad Litem to do?
Originally presented at our 2024 MOSOLO Small Firm Conference
Commissioner Gretchen Yancey, herself a former GAL, instructs us on providing full, thorough GAL representation even when the usual culprits of abuse or neglect are not present. She clearly explains what judges and commissioners need to hear to make a decision and the role of the GAL recommendation in this setting. "What's a GAL to do?" Implement GAL standards 3.0, 4.0, 9.0, 10.0, and 13.0.
Speaker: Commissioner Gretchen L. Yancey, 13th Judicial Circuit Court, Columbia
2:03-2:51 p.m. | Permanency planning
Originally presented at our 2024 Annual Family Law Conference
When children enter the juvenile and foster care systems, an important goal is ensuring the child can exit the unstable world of state custody and either create or reintegrate with family. Handling a serious and important topic, Brennan Pratt examines the permanency options envisioned by Missouri law and the obstacles related to each. Awareness of the pros and cons of different permanency options is necessary for GAL standards 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0.
Speaker: Brennan Pratt, Pratt & Grisham, Springfield
2:51-3 p.m. | Break
3-3:45 p.m. | How to use supervised visitation in effective step-up plans
Originally presented at our 2024 Annual Family Law Conference
GALs are intimately involved helping the parties and the court develop visitation plans. To give appropriate advice, the GAL must understand the child's situation and the specifics of mom's and dad's dynamics. Social worker and GAL duo Alicia Grindstaff and Kristen Buzzelli explain visitation options and considerations choosing between them. This program addresses GAL standards 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, and 10.0.
Speakers: Alicia Grindstaff and Kristen Buzzelli, Summit Families First, Lee's Summit
3:45-4:30 p.m. | Judicial Panel: Perspectives on the impact of domestic violence on custody orders
Originally presented at our 2024 Annual Family Law Conference
Although rounding the day out with a somber topic, the honorable judges on this panel explain what it takes for domestic violence to be fully considered by the court in custody decisions. They address credibility of witnesses, the weight of certain evidence, and the current awareness of DV issues among family law practitioners. Topics in the program are applicable to GAL standards 6.0, 9.0, 12.0, 13.0.
Speakers: Hon. Susan Jensen, Greene County Circuit Court, Springfield; Hon. Trisha McCulloch, St. Charles County Circuit Court, O'Fallon; Hon. Angela Vorhees, 29th Judicial Circuit, Carthage; Moderator: Amy Diemer, St. Francis Community Services, St. Louis
4:30 p.m. | Adjourn
Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.
| 01 Square peg round hole - A GAL pep talk (175.8 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 02 GAL standards and best practices (3.7 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 03 Dealing with empowered older children Materials (642.1 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 04 Cultural Competency for GAL (259.5 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 05 GAL No abuse or neglect - What to do (1 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 06-01 22-permanency planning (1.1 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 06-02 23-permanency-planning-talk (604.9 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 06-03 24 permanency-planning (113.3 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 07 How to use supervised visitation (189.7 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 08 Judicial Panel - Perspectives on the impact of domestic violence on custody orders (1.2 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| MOLAP Information (210.1 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Important Information for Attorneys Seeking Kansas Credit (102.8 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Kevin Chafin is a Licensed Professional Counselor with more than 20 years experience with the Family and Domestic Court systems and the Missouri Children’s Division. He provides mediation and counseling services and has done so for more than 15 years and specializes in individual adults, adolescents, and children; co-parenting counseling; mediation and reunification counseling. Kevin has a Masters in Counseling degree from Webster University in Kansas City. Before becoming a counselor, he worked as a child abuse/neglect investigator for the Missouri Children’s Division, legal assistant to the attorneys at Family Court in Kansas City, and non-profit program director.
As the Missouri Bar's CLE Attorney, Cody is tasked with selecting the Bar's CLE offerings and linking them to learning objectives that best help Missouri attorneys serve their clients. Prior to law school at Wash. U., Cody served four years in the U.S. Foreign Service where he developed and implemented trainings for onboarding new visa adjudicators, identifying business visa fraud, and improving anti-trafficking practices.
Amy, CLAM Director of Legal Services, received her law degree from SLU and practices family law/GAL. She was MO-AFCC Board Member, is co-chair BAMSL Pro Bono Committee, Herb Eastman Clinical Fund, member CAFC; 2023 recipient of the Missouri Lawyers Media Women's Justice AWard for Public Service.
Danielle Dodd is the director of the MU Child & Family Justice Clinic. Prior to joining Mizzou Law, she was legal counsel for the Department of Social Services (DSS). As legal counsel, she advised Children’s Division and MO HealthNet. This included litigating termination of parental rights and adult guardianships.
Brittnee is a family law attorney in Bolivar, Missouri. Brittnee currently serves as a Guardian ad Litem for Dallas, Greene, Hickory, Polk, and Webster counties in dissolution, paternity, adoption, guardianship, and protection order cases.
The Honorable Susan S. Jensen practiced family law in Springfield before being appointed as Family Court Commissioner, Division II, for Greene County in 2016. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Commissioner Jensen graduated from William Jewell College and the University of Iowa College Of Law.
Judge McCulloch engaged in private practice prior to taking the bench in 2022. Her primary area of practice was family law.
She was a contracted Guardian ad Litem for St. Charles County Juvenile Office for ten years before taking the bench. She is currently assigned to a family law docket.
Erika Ottolini, M.A.T., M.Ed, LPC, is a family therapist in St. Louis. Her practice, Artemis Counseling, focuses on adolescent health and includes court-involved cases of family adjustment to dissolution, parent coaching, resist/refuse dynamics & Collaborative divorce coaching and child specialist work. She is a member of IACP, CFLA, & AFCC.
Brennan J. Pratt is a family law attorney with Pratt & Grisham LLC whose work includes acting as Guardian ad Litem in custody cases and order of protection proceedings in Christian County and Greene County. Brennan graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2014.
Angela A. Vorhees was appointed Family Court Commissioner of the 29th Judicial Circuit in January 2019. In 1997, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University). She graduated from the University of Michigan, School of Law in 2000 and was admitted to the Missouri Bar in September, 2000. While in private practice, Commissioner Vorhees primarily practiced in the areas of family law, juvenile law and child advocacy. She also served as a Family law mediator as well as an adjunct Instructor for Missouri Southern State University. She is a member of the Missouri Bar Association and the Jasper County Bar Association.
Austin is a Member Rooney McBride & Smith, and has been practicing in Family Law for 19 years; he has served as a Guardian ad Litem in both Missouri and Arkansas. Austin is active in the community working with Abilities First, the Kitchen, A.C.E., and the Pregnancy Care Center.
Commissioner Gretchen Yancey was appointed in Family Court Commissioner in the 13th Judicial Circuit in 2024 and primarily presides over dissolutions, motions to modify, and paternity cases. She had over twenty years of experience in family law litigation, mediation, and guardian ad litem work in mid-Missouri prior to her appointment.
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