Reflections from the Bench: An Interview with Justice Barbara Pariente, Part Two

In this two part episode, retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente reflects on her career as a leading judicial voice for the protection and enhancement of the legal rights of children and their corresponding need for emotional stability.While on the bench, she supported the establishment of processes that would minimize the trauma children suffer when removed from their families. She pushed the Florida bench to become a trauma-responsive, developmentally informed court.She also championed lawyers who represented foster children, recognizing the hard, emotional work they put in to assist these children. She envisions a thriving children’s law office to include the pairing of child trauma specialists with appropriately trained lawyers for children.This episode is not just for policy wonks. Justice Pariente inspires children’s lawyers to be creative and steadfast in their representation of vulnerable clients and their needs.For more information on the family court trauma and child development toolkit mentioned in the episode, please see this link, https://www.flcourts.org/Resources-Services/Court-Improvement/Family-Courts/Family-Court-Basics2/Family-Court-Tool-Kit-Trauma-and-Child-Development