Family Law Section
GET TO KNOW YOUR BOARD MEMBER
Jennifer Albaugh
SBAND Board Member
What is your current position? I am currently an associate attorney at Severson, Wogsland & Liebl, P. C. I practice exclusively in the area of family law.
What is your hometown, college attended, and law school attended? I am originally from Beulah. I attended college at the University of North Dakota
( UND), where I received a bachelor of science in criminal justice and a minor in sociology, as well as a bachelor of arts in English and a minor in American Sign Language. After graduating, I attended the UND School of Law.
What professional work did you do before law school? I didn’ t really do any professional work before law school. While I was completing my undergraduate degrees, I worked as the Home Theater Supervisor at the Best Buy in Grand Forks. It was a great place to work, but now I am the one stuck programming televisions and remotes and hooking up surround sounds.
What led you to a career in law? I blame my career in law on a personality / career test I took in the second grade. The results of the personality / career test indicated
I should be an attorney, and I never considered another career path.
What other involvement have you had with SBAND prior to being on the Board? Prior to being on the board of governors, I was the president-elect and later the president of the Young Lawyer’ s Section.
What is your favorite quote?“ You can’ t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”-Timber Hawkeyel
What is the last book you read( good or bad)? My dad and I started reading the Michael Connelly series together a couple of years ago and recently finished his latest book,“ The Wrong Side of Goodbye.” I thought it was a good book!
SECTION HIGHLIGHT
Family Law Section
While SBAND’ s Family Law Section has been around for decades, its resurgence began in the 1980s as the courts began to take a closer look at the importance and impacts of Family Law.“ At this time, the Family Law Section became more of its own voice,” says Sherry Mills Moore.“ We did a lot of work on rule changes and statutory changes to help the system function better in relation to family law.”
A Family Law Task Force was also formed to bring together the Section and the court system, legislators, and others to focus on problems and solutions related to family law. Moore says the work of the Family Law Section made significant impacts in creating changes to the North Dakota Rules of the Court, which included changes to the interim order process, modification of custody, and the development of tools for the court system regarding parenting investigators and guardians ad litem.“ We really worked to become a more formalized group and to work with others involved in family law,” says Moore.
Today, the Family Law Section continues to monitor and address topics that impact family law, including working with the family mediation and parenting coordinator programs.“ During legislative years, we keep an eye out for any family law bills that may affect us. We get input from our members to see how it will affect lawyers and family law,” says Tasha Gahner, Section chair.
The Family Law Section also holds a conference each year, rotating locations between Bismarck and Fargo.“ We focus on topics that impact family law attorneys and the practice of family law,” says Gahner.“ The CLE opportunities are great to come together and make sure we are up-to-date on family law changes and issues.”
Gahner encourages others working or interested in family law to join the Section.“ It’ s a great networking opportunity,” she notes.“ There are family law lawyers from all across the state that come together.”
FAMILY LAW SECTION OFFICERS
Tasha Gahner – Chair Jason McLean – Outgoing Chair Shannon Parvey – Vice-Chair Jackie Stebbins – Secretary / Treasurer
36 THE GAVEL