Recent Column on Appointing Attorneys for Toddlers Relies on 'Careless and Ill-Informed Reading' of New York's Child Representation Rules

A family court lawyer's recent unsubstantiated assertion in a Law Journal column that that judges "allow[] themselves to be potentially influenced by their favorite AFC on the issue of a toddler's custody," is both nonsensical and insulting to the judiciary, a group of prominent Attorneys For Children write.

December 11, 2023 at 09:36 PM

5 minute read

Family Law

Dawne Mitchell, Karen J. Freedman, Liberty Aldrich

Gary Solomon

In his article, "Why AFCs Should Not Be Appointed to Represent Non-Communicative Toddlers in Custody Disputes," Peter Galasso argues that an Attorney For the Child (AFC) should never be assigned to represent a toddler or, by implication, any non-verbal child. In taking this position, Galasso evinces a flawed understanding of the role of the attorney for the child and ignores the well-settled history of AFC advocacy for toddlers and newborns.