PAUL R. BLATCHFORD - What does a Vocational Expert do?

Meet Paul R. Blatchford – one of our newer members of the Board of Directors. Unlike many of our other board members, Paul is not an attorney, nor is he a psychologist or a financial planner. Paul is a vocational consultant and expert.

Paul graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. He subsequently earned a Masters in Educational Counseling from Suffolk University. Additionally, he has had extensive training for Vocational Testing and Labor Market Research. Paul is certified by the American Board of Vocational Experts as a Diplomate – the highest status that one can reach.

After graduating from college, Paul initially worked for Youth Activities of Southeastern Massachusetts, providing services to the Welfare Department under the Work Incentive (WIN) program. In this capacity, Paul provided counseling, vocational training, and assisted in job placement of women who were welfare recipients. Paul also worked with severely handicapped individuals for the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. For seventeen years, he was contracted by the Social Security Administration to provide testimony in disability hearings, as an impartial vocational expert.

As a member of the Board of Directors, Paul also serves as Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee. This committee is the arm of The Divorce Center which offers seminars to our membership and other professionals interested in a particular topic. He is also member of the National Association of Disability Evaluators (NADE), and the International Association of Rehabilitative Professionals (IARP).

Paul has maintained a private practice as a vocational consultant for more than thirty years. He has been qualified as an expert witness by numerous federal, state, and administrative bodies. He has offices in Brookline and Worcester.

What exactly does a Vocational Consultant do?

Initially, consultant assesses the capacity of a person to do work and to earn money. If a person is able to work, then the vocational expert determines this person’s ability to sustain work, i.e., whether the person can work full time or part time. This assessment is done by gathering vocational information such as the person’s age, education, prior work history, and presence or absence of disability. Once this information is compiled, the vocational expert develops an analysis of the individual’s vocational profile and earning capacity. In certain instances, standardized vocational testing can be utilized.

Who would have need for a Vocational Expert? Various organizations, such as the Industrial Accident Board and the Social Security Administration, along with attorneys who concentrate in divorce cases, wrongful death, personal injury, long-term disability, and medical malpractice cases utilize these specialized evaluations.

Why and when would a divorce attorney require such services? In divorce litigation, an attorney may want his or her client’s employability factors analyzed to determine what type of jobs (full or part-time) their client would potentially be able to perform. The expert witness would also determine the earning capacity associated with those jobs. In divorce litigation, it can also be beneficial for an attorney to secure this information on their client’s unemployed or underemployed spouse. This information can be utilized in mediation or in trial. It can provide a judge or mediator with data necessary to make an informed decision.

It is helpful for an attorney to hire a vocational consultant, such as Paul, prior to drafting the interrogatories and prior to conducting any depositions. Paul could utilize his expertise to assist the attorney in knowing what questions to ask for both of these discovery tools.

When Paul is not working, he is very involved with his family. He is married and has two teen-aged children. If Paul is not at home or working, you might be able to find him fishing on Cape Cod, or maintaining his colorful and diverse garden.

If you would like to speak with Paul regarding his fees or to find out more about his services, he may be reached by calling 617-244-5642 or emailing him at paulblat@aol.com

The Unemployed/Underemployed Spouse in a Divorce

Paul Blatchford, a member of the Board of Directors of The Divorce Center, is scheduled to speak, along with Mary R. LaCivita of the Boston Law Collaborative, LLC at the Boston Bar Association regarding how to use a vocational expert in your family law case, including topics on selling the idea to the client, demonstrating the likely return on their investment, considerations for attributing income to an unemployed/underemployed spouse (such as how the new Child Support Guidelines are affected by attributed income) and how such a report can be the impetus for settlement.

The program is entitled The Unemployed/Underemployed Spouse in a Divorce Case.

The program, sponsored by the BBA’s Family Law Section, is at the Boston Bar Association's office on 16 Beacon Street, Boston, MA on Tuesday, April 13th from 5:30 to 6:30 immediately following the Family Law Steering Committee’s meeting at 4:30.

Paul and Mary will discuss and answer questions regarding when to engage a vocational expert in a divorce case, how to utilize and work with a vocational expert, selling the idea of a vocational expert to your client and demonstrating the likely return on their investment, attributing income to an unemployed/underemployed spouse such as how the new Child Support Guidelines handle attributed income and how a vocational evaluation of an unemployed/underemployed spouse can be an impetus for settlement or used at trial.

For further details or to sign up visit the BBA's site here.

Meet the Board - Barbara Marcus and Lisa Lewis

Barbara Marcus and Lisa Lewis are both members of the Board of Directors of the Divorce Center and serve on the Public Education committee. Lisa and Barbara are both mediators and the founding partners of Navigating Resolutions, a mediation and conflict management firm. They help families have difficult conversations and make difficult decisions in a private and confidential setting. Their family mediation practice includes divorce, post-divorce, elder, disabilities and special needs.

Lisa has received extensive advanced mediation training in divorce, elder issues, landlord/tenant, collaborative law, negotiation, facilitation, parent coordination and Non Violent Communication. She gained invaluable experience serving as a volunteer mediator on the Boston Municipal and District Court Mediation Panel of Mediation Works Inc. She is also the Mediation Coordinator for Dance New England. Lisa received her BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University, Marietta, Georgia. She operated a private chiropractic practice for 18 years in Scituate, MA. Lisa has 3 children and one grandson and enjoys dancing Swing and Argentine tango.

Barbara has received advanced education in collaborative law, parent /child, divorce, elder, marital and landlord /tenant mediation, parent coordination, advocacy, special needs planning and disability issues. Barbara currently mediates family and civil cases for the Harvard Mediation Program and Metropolitan Mediation Services, Brookline. She is a case liaison for Small Claims Court in Quincy, Massachusetts and a trainer for the family and peer mediation programs at both Harvard and Metropolitan Mediation. Barbara also serves on Mediation Works Inc. Boston Municipal and District Court Mediation Panel. Barbara received her BS in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University, a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and a Graduate Certificate in Dispute Resolution from University of Massachusetts Boston. She has worked extensively with families impacted by disabilities and special needs in community health settings and public schools. Barbara has two grown children and enjoys bicycle riding and knitting. She co-chairs the No Place For Hate Committee of the Anti- Defamation League in Hingham MA, coordinating community based educational programs.

Lisa and Barbara are both members of the Association for Conflict Resolution, New England chapter of the ACR, Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation and Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. Integrating their experiences in healthcare and mediation, Lisa and Barbara bring a unique perspective to problem solving and help clients be proactive in their approach.

Navigating Resolutions is based on the South Shore, however Lisa and Barbara often travel throughout the greater Boston area to meet clients in order to better serve their needs.

To learn more please see their website at: www.navigatingresolutions.com
or call them at 617-633-4716.

Meet the Board - David L. Seaquist, Ph.D., Co-President

David is a practicing psychologist providing counseling services to individuals/groups including computerized tests, couples counseling, biofeedback, stress management, performance enhancement and career counseling. He has administered clinical services as part of the Department of Mental Health in MA., was Director of Counseling & Study Services at Boston University and provided psychological testing consultation for Law Enforcement agencies in both Iowa and MA.

Before coming to MA., David was Chief Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Counseling Center & College of Education at Drake University in Des Moines and also Staff Counselor at University of Minnesota. His professional affiliations include the American Psychological Association, Iowa Psychological Association, and MA. PsychologicalAssociation. Extremely adept with a computer, David's other interests include sailing, music and nature and golf.

David is a past President of the Divorce Center,a former Vice President, past coordinator of the Parents Apart court-mandated course, was a member of the Professional Development committee, and a frequent speaker at the public education series.

Meet the Board - Barbie Jetter, Co-President

This is the second in our series of Meet the Board entries, in which, about once a week, we will be introducing you to another member of The Divorce Center's Board of Directors.

Barbie has been Co-President since 2007, formerly was chairperson of the Public Education and Marketing committees focusing on promoting, growing and expanding The Divorce Center's programs and membership. Barbie is a Certified Mortgage & Divorce Planning Professional and Licensed Senior Mortgage Advisor and Certified Professional Coach at Loansnap in Canton, MA, specializing in loans for couples who are in the divorce process.

Barbie is a Certified Divorce Mortgage Planning Professional (CDPP), Certified Professional Coach (CPC), holds an MS degree in Counseling from Boston University. An experienced counselor, she is able to listen to her clients and advise them on how to seek the best alternatives and solutions, while saving time and money. She has successfully completed the Management Development Program in Residential Lending from Northeastern University, and has completed the Introduction to Mediation Skills Training Program through the Boston Law Collaborative. She is also an Allied Member of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. Recently, Jetter coordinated and ran the yearly fundraising events benefiting the South Shore Hospital and affiliated organizations. These events included the Walk for Hospice, and the annual golf tournament, benefiting patients within the South Shore Hospital system.

A divorced single mom with one daughter, one dog and three cats, she loves golf, board, card and tile games, movies and working out. Barbie is a great listener and cares about helping people who are going through the divorce process.

We hope you enjoyed meeting Barbie and tune in next week when we will introduce the other current co-president.

If you are interested in skipping ahead you can meet the whole board on our website at http://www.divorcenter.org/about/board.php.

Meet the Board - Jeanne M. Seaquist, IT Administrator/Analyst

This is the first in our series of Meet the Board entries, in which, about once a week, we will be introducing you to another member of The Divorce Center's Board of Directors.

As a nod to all of the hard work Jeanne has done in keeping The Divorce Center active on the web, she deserves to be mentioned first on The Divorce Center's brand new blog.

Jeanne has been on the Board since 1998 as webmistress for The Divorce Center. She has also served two years as Co-President of the Divorce Center, been a co-editor of the newsletter, Vice-President for two years, and chaired the Membership committee.

Jeanne holds a degree in education and certificates in both Internet Design and Business from Bentley College. She manages several websites while maintaining her regular job as Business Intelligence Administrator in the Information Technology department of an engineering company. She also authors a news segment of the company Intranet.

Jeanne is an avid fan of the Red Sox and Patriots as well as the Boston College football team, enjoys travel, golf, and most sporting events.

We hope you enjoyed meeting Jeanne and tune in next week when we will introduce the current co-presidents.

If you are interested in skipping ahead you can meet the whole board on our website at http://www.divorcenter.org/about/board.php.