Montgomery County Lawyers Lead the Charge on PBA Family Law Video

By Christina M. DeMatteo, Esq., and Carolyn Moran Zack, Esq.

Family lawyers and judges on the front lines of custody disputes are facing increasing levels of conflict between parents and family members. Recognizing this challenge, Montgomery County attorney Helen Casale, then Chair of the PBA Family Law Section, formed a task force in 2021 to create an educational video for parents to learn to improve co-parent communications and interactions. Titled “Tips and Tools for Better Co-Parenting,” the video was directed by Attorney Carolyn Moran Zack of Philadelphia County, along with three Montgomery County attorneys – Christina M. DeMatteo, Kelly M. Fazzini, and Colleen McCue Norcross.

Released in 2022, the video features a series of vignettes, demonstrating common challenging custody situations. Through a collaborative partnership with Bill Eddy and the High Conflict Institute of San Diego, CA, the video promotes the use of BIFF Responses® as a tool to improve co-parenting. BIFF is an acronym, developed by Bill Eddy, which stands for Brief, Informative, Friendly and Firm, and provides parents with an easy-to-remember way to improve co-parent communications. The video includes explanation of the BIFF Response® method, as well as concrete examples to demonstrate how BIFF Responses® can improve parent communications.

The production team recruited the Honorable Daniel J. Clifford, Administrative Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Family Division, the Honorable Kim D. Eaton, Administrative Judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division, and psychologists Shannon Edwards, Psy.D., Deborah Gilman, Ph.D., and Heather Green, Ph.D., to provide educational commentary for the video. In addition, a number of local attorneys volunteered, along with their family members, as actors for the vignettes in the video, including Montgomery County attorneys Sarinia Feinman, Inna Matarese, and Michael A. Walker, who acted in the video vignettes, and Luz Negron-Bennett, who assisted with Spanish translation. Participating in the video was eye-opening, even for the experienced family lawyers in the cast. Regarding her role, Inna Matarese noted, “I played the role of the not-so-nice new girlfriend, causing a rift between the parents that was fun to act out. From a professional perspective, I think it’s important to see how a new significant other in a family unit can really throw a wrench into a coparenting relationship on one end of the spectrum. On the other end of the spectrum, it could potentially enrich it.” Sarinia Feinman spoke about the impact of the video on her daughters, who both played roles of children in the video. “A few weeks after filming, my older daughter came home from school and had her Thanksgiving activity with her. As I read it, I was shocked to see that she wrote that she was thankful for ‘un-divorced parents.’ When I asked her about it, she said ‘when we filmed the custody exchange scene, I felt what it was like for children to have to go through that, and I’m happy that I don’t have to.’ In that moment, I realized what children in high conflict custody cases go through, and if this video can help those children in any way, then that’s the true impact in making this video.”

Filming of the video took place over six months. The video was filmed in various locations, including interior scenes within the Montgomery County courthouse and at local Montgomery County homes. Reflecting on the filming experience, Kelley M. Fazzini shared, “I have a new appreciation for the financial resources, time commitment, planning, skill and equipment it takes to complete a production of the video like this one. Watching our producer, Brandon, give ‘stage’ directions, manipulate multiple cameras and lighting and then editing footage to a final product was fascinating and not something I expected to be involved in as a lawyer.” The video script was developed in consultation with Bill Eddy, the High Conflict Institute, and the judges and professionals providing commentary for the video. Colleen M. Norcross, who was primarily responsible for the scripting of the video, said, “One of the most interesting parts of drafting the script was putting ourselves directly in the shoes of high conflict custody cases and thinking about how parents respond to each other, positively and negatively. It is easy for us to tell our clients to respond in a calm and friendly manner, but it felt differently to write those conversations and see how easily they can go off the rails.”

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The video debuted at the PBA Family Law Section Meeting in Newport, RI, in July 2022. Since then, the video has been promoted by lawyers and judges across the Commonwealth. According to the Honorable Daniel J. Clifford of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, “I’ve already used the video numerous times in custody cases – in one I had the parents watch it on their phone in the hallway and then come back in the Courtroom and tell me what they learned.” Judge Clifford noted that other judges are using the video as well. “The video has received enthusiastic response around the state. One of my judicial colleagues, in Luzerne County, is having parents sign that they watched the video and file a Certification Form on the docket.” Parenting coordinators, including video director Carolyn Zack, are also recommending that high conflict custody litigants review the video to learn skills to help them better communicate and resolve issues directly. Former PBA Family Law Section Chair Helen Casale expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of the project. “The video project was such a rewarding experience for me. As Chair of the PBA FLS, I really wanted to put out a product that was going to be helpful to all across the Commonwealth. I really think we achieved this goal. The video is now being used in courtrooms across the state and by family law practitioners as well. It has become an easy and accessible resource for families struggling with custody/parenting time issues.”

The video “Tips and Tools for Better Co-Parenting” is a free resource which can be found on the Pennsylvania Bar Association website at Pennsylvania Bar Association > For Lawyers > Sections > Family Law Section > Resources > FLS Videos (pabar.org). The video is 42 minutes long and has closed captions in both Spanish and English (which enables the viewer to watch the video silently, even in a public area). The PBA Family Law Section has published a brochure (paper and electronic format) which includes a QR code which links directly to the video. The brochure is available for free upon request from the PBA Family Law Section.