FACULTY
Lori Battin, Senior Research Analyst, Court Improvement Program, Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond
Eric Reynolds, Staff Attorney, Court Improvement Program, Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond
MODERATOR
Sandra L. Karison, Director, Court Improvement Program, Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Eric Reynolds, Staff Attorney, Court Improvement Program, Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond (Expand/Collapse Bio)
Eric Reynolds is staff attorney for the Court Improvement Program in the Office of the Executive Secretary for the Supreme Court of Virginia. Previously, he was an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Office of the Attorney General in Richmond, representing and advising the Virginia Department of Social Services, the State Executive Council for Children’s Services and the Office of Children’s Services, the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, and the Department of Medical Assistance Services. Prior to working at the OAG, he was in private practice, focusing on family law and serving as a court-appointed guardian ad litem for children and counsel for parents in child custody and child welfare cases in the Metro-Richmond area. He has been a member of various work groups and advisory panels for the Virginia Department of Social Services and the Commission on Youth, served on the Chesterfield Court Improvement Team, the Chesterfield Head Start Policy Council, the Children’s Justice Act/Court Appointed Special Advocate Advisory Board, the Virginia Court Improvement Program Advisory Committee and its Workgroup to Review the Practice and Performance of GALs for Children, Virginia’s Three Branch Institute, and the Richmond Community Criminal Justice Services Board. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law.
Sandra L. Karison, Director, Court Improvement Program, Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond (Expand/Collapse Bio)
Sandra L. Karison is Director of the Court Improvement Program in the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, where she develops and facilitates the integration of procedures and best practices for court cases involving juvenile and family law. A particular focus for the program is on improving the court system’s ability to manage and resolve cases involving child abuse, neglect, foster care, and permanency planning for dependent children under state and federal laws and policies. This work is facilitated by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant first awarded to Virginia in February 1995. Ms. Karison also supports implementation of Judicial Council of Virginia standards for guardians ad litem for children and incapacitated adults.
Previously, Ms. Karison served as Assistant Director of Legal Research in the Office of the Executive Secretary, as Staff Attorney for the Court Improvement Program, and as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Richmond representing the Richmond Department of Social Services and Children’s Services Act office. She also has worked for Rappahannock Legal Services and in private practice, where she served as guardian ad litem for children and incapacitated adults.
Ms. Karison is a graduate of the University of Virginia. She earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law.