Kentucky Bar Foundation awards grant to Mothers Esquire for Parental Continuance

Mothers Esquire thanks the Kentucky Bar Foundation for its financial support in our efforts to get a Parental Continuance Rule adopted in Kentucky!

What is a PARENTAL CONTINUANCE RULE?

A Parental Continuance Rule shifts the burden to the opposing party to prove it would cause undue harm to the case when a new parent requests continuance on a case, as opposed to having the parent subjected to potential unconscious caregiver bias. Mothers Esquire advocates for each state to adopt a Parental Continuance Rule, wherein courts would presumptively grant a request for a parental continuance by either parent (whether birth or adoption) in an ongoing litigation matter, with some exceptions for child welfare and incarcerated individuals.

Parental Continuance Rules have been adopted in North Carolina and Florida.  Mothers Esquire was instrumental in the successful advocation of the adoption of the Florida Parental Continuance Rule with the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

Having every state and territory adopt this rule would help the judiciary apply a fair approach for men and women embarking on the journey into parenthood and decrease the impact of unconscious bias on decisions around continuances.

The legal profession as a whole, and the judiciary especially, should acknowledge the importance of child-rearing and supporting members of the bar who choose to practice law and build families, as well as the disproportionate impact of the failure to acknowledge parental continuance requests on women litigators’ careers.

Mothers Esquire appreciates the vast impact the Kentucky Bar Foundation makes for its members and is especially appreciative of this financial support in our efforts to get a Parental Continuance Rule adopted in Kentucky! Working together we can make the legal profession better!