Practicing civil & criminal law in state & federal courts since 1989
Attorney Arlaine Rockey represents clients throughout North Carolina and Florida, as well as in all other states with local co-counsel. Ms. Rockey handles complicated child custody cases for protective parents, as well as other civil and criminal trial court cases. Ms. Rockey brings extensive experience, knowledge and professionalism to every case tailored to your individual needs and concerns. Ms. Rockey has been practicing nationally since 2002. Read her free legal advice articles and learn about her in-depth consultations. Ms Rockey was counsel for 86 Amici Curiae in a federal #ERA case. See more info.
Legal Advice for Protective Parents in Custody Cases:
Protecting your Child from Abuse
If you want Ms. Rockey to consider taking your case, use the Consultation Request form here or send her an email at AttorneyRockey@gmail.com with a summary of your case the state and county where it is located, and your contact information. See more about the types of cases I handle below my photo. You can read about my Experience and see my resume here.
TRIAL CONSULTANT
I provide TRIAL CONSULTANT services, throughout the case, to attorneys trying to prove child abuse for the #ProtectiveParent #PP (usually the mother) to protect the children from child physical abuse #CA, child sexual abuse #CSA, or domestic violence #DV (living in a family where there is DV against the mother frequently can equate to child emotional abuse and can have lifelong negative effects on them).
Most family law attorneys don’t understand the detailed nuances of how to prove child abuse, what specific kinds of evidence to use, how to discern the best evidence, how to use evidence rules to prove abuse, particularly child sexual abuse CSA, or DV. There are a lot of coercive control issues, some mental health, substance abuse, or sexual assaults against the protective parent, and I am able to level up attorneys to understand how to navigate the minefield, what types of things a protective parent can do during the case to help and not hurt their cases and how to take prophylactic measures to prevent typical missteps that can sink a case. There are also tricky strategy issues, because usually the perpetrator slams back with predictable allegations against the protective parent of “coaching” the children to make up abuse allegations, of making up or confabulating the alleged acts against the perpetrator just to “alienate” the perpetrator from the children [“parental alienation”], or of falsely claiming the protective parent has serious mental health disorders as a way to discredit the PP’s credibility.
There are frequently Child Protective Services #CPS involved, and all of this is important to the legal case. Read my article above, “Protecting Your Child from Abuse” for more about the complicated strategy issues and the minefields to avoid. It has been statistically proven that mothers, who make allegations of DV, CA and especially CSA, have a higher risk of losing custody, sometimes ending up with severely restricted visitation and of even being accused criminally of making false charges of child abuse or in CPS Juvenile Court of emotionally abusing their children. These are high risk cases for the protective parent, but even more high risk for your children if you do nothing or have an attorney acting without extensive experience or an experienced legal guide.
My over 34 years of experience dealing with these issues, over 22 years nationally, can make the difference to obtain a successful outcome. I am licensed in NC and FL and have represented protective parents, pro hac vice, in many states. I also have 25 years of experience with written appellate and amicus briefs on these and other matters in cases in state and federal appellate courts in four states and the United States Supreme Court. I am always thinking of how to work at the trial level to get the best outcome if an appeal occurs.
The earlier your attorney gets me involved as your legal trial consultant, the better outcome you may potentially have for you and your children. Many attorneys, while versed in domestic law, would be able to represent you much better with my legal counsel. I would prefer to hear from your attorney and you and to have a joint consultation with both of you for expediency. The consultation fee is the same. I am moving my practice towards acting as a Trial Consultant full time. Please let your attorney know that you want them to or you want to inquire about my Trial Consultant services. Send them my website and email. I will email your attorney (and you, if you fill out the consultation form with your attorney’s permission) back with more information. I would be happy to help you have an opportunity to protect your children or get them back!
See more here.
Contact
➤ LOCATION
PO Box 656 Marshall, NC 28753
➤ CONTACT
AttorneyRockey@gmail.com
Cell (828) 279-6735
Fax (866) 202-5977
➤ website
www.ArlaineRockey.com
@RockeyLaw
Areas of Practice
CHILD CUSTODY
Ms. Rockey has represented hundreds of parents, grandparents, step-parents and other relatives in visitation and custody cases. Ms. Rockey focuses on complex custody cases, including issues of:
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
LGBT
Read more about Protecting Your Child in a custody case here. If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you or being a TRIAL CONSULTANT in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROTECTION
Ms. Rockey has represented hundreds of battered women. In NC, you can apply for an emergency Domestic Violence Protective Order, pursuant to NCGS Ch. 50B (“DVPO” or a “50B”), any time on your own at the Clerk of Superior Court’s office or after hours, at the Magistrate’s office. You can contact the local battered women’s shelter for counseling, safety planning or an emergency and safe place for you and your children to stay. Ms. Rockey can help you file your case, or take the case after you file it, to represent you at the “10 day” hearing (the trial). If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you or being a TRIAL CONSULTANT in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
CRIMINAL DEFENSE
Ms. Rockey represents clients with felony and misdemeanor criminal cases throughout North Carolina. She offers pre-paid flat fees, sometimes with payment plans. If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
DSS/CPS CASES
Ms. Rockey has represented hundreds of parents in Department of Social Services (“DSS”)/ Child Protective Services (“CPS”) abuse, neglect, dependency, and termination of parental rights cases in Juvenile Court. If you have been contacted by DSS / CPS, you need to talk to a lawyer immediately. The sooner you get legal advice, the better the chance that you can prevent your children from being placed in foster care. If your children have been placed in foster care, you need a lawyer to represent you who has experience dealing with DSS / CPS to help you do the right things as soon as possible. If you fail to meet the requirements set by DSS / CPS and the Court, the end result will likely be that you will either have your parental rights terminated (so that your children can be adopted) or your children will be placed in the permanent guardianship or custody of someone else (possibly a relative). If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you or being a TRIAL CONSULTANT in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
GUARDIANSHIP &
STANDBY GUARDIANSHIP
Ms. Rockey handles guardianship and standby guardianship cases. Guardianship is for adults who want to have the legal right to care for child(ren) who do not have a parent who is alive and able to care for the child(ren). Standby guardianship is for parents who have a terminal or a serious chronic illness where they may have periods of time where they need another adult to step in during times when they are not physically well enough to care for their children. The parent still retains full legal rights to their children, but shares the legal rights when there is a “triggering event” so that the standby guardian can step in with a moment’s notice. It can prevent these children from ending up in foster care. Ms. Rockey co-drafted and helped create the Standby Guardianship law 25 years ago. If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
FAMILY LAW
Ms. Rockey handles other types of family law cases, including child support, divorce, equitable distribution, alimony (post-separation spousal support), and divorce when they are combined with a child custody case. Ms. Rockey also prepares separation agreements, which are contracts for separated married couples that can cover all family law issues. These separation agreements can be later incorporated into their divorce order and will become part of that order, and then they will be subject to the contempt powers of the Court if there are violations. If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
ADOPTION
Ms. Rockey does adoption cases throughout North Carolina in private adoption cases (where DSS is not involved). The adoptive parents should contact Ms. Rockey about their case to arrange a consultation. If you want Ms. Rockey to consider representing you in your case, send her an email with the form on the Contact & Consultation page here.
MEDIATION
As a trained mediator and having three decades of experience negotiating settlements in family law cases, Ms. Rockey is a creative and tenacious mediator. A mediator is a neutral person who is not a lawyer for either side. She listens to both sides and finds out what they want to happen in their case. Then she works with both sides (either in the same room or separately) to reach a settlement agreement satisfactory to both parties, which agreement can be turned into a separation agreement or a Court Order. Ms. Rockey mediates cases for parties who do not have lawyers or who have lawyers. She cannot give legal advice to either party in a mediation. She must remain neutral. There are great benefits to the parties and the family to reaching a settlement agreement rather than going through a trial. It is cheaper, far less contentious, and usually leads to happier lives for the entire family. If you have a lawyer, you can ask your lawyer to contact Ms. Rockey, or if you don’t have a lawyer, you can contact Ms. Rockey, to schedule a private mediation.