Looking for a Guardian Ad Litem?

 

In Georgia, a Guardian ad Litem serves as the Court's expert witness on the family involved in order to make a recommendation on what is in the best interest of the children involved.

 

Steven Cayton has been practicing law in Atlanta since 2009 and has been doing GAL cases since 2010. Steven was trained through ICLE/AVLF and has participated in a number of Guardian ad Litems trainings including as a panel member on Advanced Topics for Guardians. 

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 At Cayton Legal the approach to a GAL case typically involves the following steps (Not always in this order):

 

---- Attorney or Court sends Party information for conflict checks and eligibility check;

--Order of Appointment (If you need a sample order let us know);

--Introduction letter and documents sent to parties;

-- Initial calls to counsel if applicable;

-- Parents return/fill out the questionnaire, release forms, and witness information (We have a web form for most of this);

-- Initial meetings with parties;

-- Witness Calls/Interviews;

-- Home visits and initial interviews with the children;

-- Attempts at settlement agreement/mediation;

-- Oral summary of recommendation;

-- Written report/recommendation;

-- Testimony at Trial.

 

Investigations typically take at least 3 months but typically 6 months or more. We will adjust as needed for the case.

 

FEE STRUCTURE:

 

We use a sliding scale fee structure for GAL cases as follows:

 

Parties with a combined annual income of $200k+ = $350/hour with a $10K retainer replenished at $3k

 

$150k -$200k = $300/hour with a $7,000 retainer replenished at $1500k;

 

$100k-$149k= $275/hour with $5,000 retainer replenished at $1K;

 

For parties with a combined income of less than $100k/year please inquire directly. Steven is on the Fulton County reduced fee GAL list. Pro Bono requests need to go through Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation in Fulton County or Dekalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation in Dekalb County, and/or the judge in your case.