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| The I CARE Foundation |
In my role as the Founding Director of the not-for-profit 'International Child Abduction Research and Enlightenment Foundation', (the 'I CARE Foundation'), I am often asked for a referral for an attorney who is not only is highly knowledgeable and skilled in the area of international family law, but who has an understanding of the challenges a parent involved in complex litigation faces.
In fact, as the I CARE Foundation has continued its activity to help recruit attorneys willing to participate in the United States Department of State's Hague Convention Attorney Network, I have been in consistent contact with a rather large number of highly trained, effective, caring lawyers who work extensively on behalf of at-risk children of abduction.
On occasion I am asked, who do you think are the top family law and international divorce and child custody lawyer in New York City?
Well, there are some really great lawyers in New York who are excellent family law attorneys. When considering how many of these attorneys are skilled in the issues of international family law, the number dwindles down significantly. Add in how many attorneys are now familiar with international child custody, including cross-border abduction, and you have a very short list of skilled lawyers.
Ironically, one of the things that I have noticed is that almost every family law practitioner makes a claim that they are familiar with international family law.
Well, when a child or children's life is at stake, 'being familiar with international family law' by studying a law book doesn't count as far as I'm concerned.
Being familiar with international family law means having hands on working knowledge of the many complexities that are involved in these specialized cases.
That is why, when I consider all the issues connected with international family law, I think New York City based attorney Joel S. Walter is in my opinion one of the best family law and international matrimonial lawyers in New York City and the surrounding area.
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| Attorney Joel S. Walter |
Mu vantage point comes from my activity as a board member of the I CARE Foundation. In all due fairness and with transparency, Joel S. Walter also sits on the I CARE Foundation's Board of Directors.
Mr. Walter was nominated to the I CARE Foundation's Board of Directors one year ago, and was selected with good reason: he is a brilliant lawyer whose practice primarily revolves around complex federal court cases, including challenging international matrimonial disputes and cross-border child kidnapping. In addition, Mr. Walter, outside of being a highly skilled litigator, possessed an unbowed desire to help children, particularly those who were or may be targeted for abduction. Combining his legal skill set and desire to make a difference on behalf of others, there was one other trait that Mr. Walter has, and one I know is critical and important for parents dealing with international custody disputes: he knew and respected the law, and in that knowledge, he was able to obtain positive results for his clients.
"Outside of being a great lawyer, Joel is brutally honest with his clients and does not act with chicanery before the courts."were the words used to describe Joel S. Walter by my good friend, the highly respected Honorable Ronald Aiello, who was the Chief Administrative Judge for New York State Supreme Court in both Kings Country and Richmond (and the inspiration for the character Judge Ronald Pitt in my novel 'The Den of the Assassin') nearly twenty years ago, when Joel and I first became friends.
The sentiment shared by Judge Aiello, who sadly passed several years ago, are sentiments felt by other judges who preside over either cases in New York State Supreme Court or the United States District Courts.
For those of you who are not aware of the I CARE Foundation, our primary mission, as cited from our official website is as follows:
The International Child Abduction Research and Enlightenment Foundation mission is to participate in social and political dialogue that will assist in the prevention of children targeted for international parental child abduction or in the reunification of children who have been wrongfully abducted. At the core of our mission is our ongoing activity to conduct research in the area of international parental child abduction and use our findings to assist policymakers create and uphold laws and policies that will prevent innocent children from abduction. It is our further goal to educate government administrators and lawmakers of our research findings so that this information can assist direct initiatives and policies. We believe it is critical that judges overseeing abduction prevention or reunification cases must become more educated of the complexities that evolve around child abduction cases. It is our intent to play a role in educating the judiciary as well as officers of the court, including lawyers who practice family law. Finally, it is our mission to educate all individuals interested in protecting children from abduction, including parents who have children targeted for abduction so that they may be able to protect their children. At the core of the I CARE Foundation is our mission to help prevent children from being internationally kidnapped through research, education, and empowerment to create and uphold policies that will help children.
What makes me say that Joel S. Walter is one of the best international matrimonial lawyers in New York City and the United States, particularly when it comes to international disputes regarding children?
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| A Rare Event: A child comes home |
I am proud and honored to work with Joel S. Walter in our fight to stop the growing pandemic of international parental child abduction as a co-member of the I CARE Foundation's board of directors.
Based on the number of children of abduction Joel S. Walter has either helped reunite or prevented abduction from occurring, based on his long-history of practicing complex legal cases before numerous United States Federal Courts for 40 years in consecutive good standing, based upon his willingness to give of himself and come to the aid and protection of defenseless children, and based upon a wealth of knowledge that allows him to work toward successful outcomes for his clients while also working diligently toward creating and implementing new laws that will protect children from abduction, Joel S. Walter is in my opinion one of the best international matrimonial and child custody lawyers in New York City and the United States.
Mr. Walter is licensed to practice law in New York State. He is also admitted to practice in the following courts:
- Appellate Division, First Department of New York
- The four Federal District Courts of New York (Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western)
- The Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals
For more information on New York City Attorney Joel S. Walter, please visit his website at: www.internationalparentalchildabduction.com
