Approach to dependency defense.
Speed. DCFS investigations and dependency hearings run on tight statutory deadlines. The detention hearing happens within one judicial day. The jurisdiction hearing happens within 15 court days for a detained child. Defense work that starts immediately is exponentially more effective than defense work that starts after the case is already framed in DCFS's reports.
Local knowledge. Edelman has 21 bench officers and roughly 25,000 dependency cases per year. Each department has its own pace, evidentiary patterns, and preferences. Knowing the bench officers, the County Counsel attorneys, the dependency panel firms, the social workers, and the prevailing local culture is part of doing the work.
Strategy first, services second. Many dependency lawyers treat services as the case — "do parenting classes, take the drug tests, and hope for the best." That approach concedes the case at jurisdiction. Genuine defense work involves identifying the weak points in the petition, contesting the allegations that should be contested, presenting relative placement when relevant, and engaging in services as part of strategy rather than as the substitute for strategy.
Coordination with criminal counsel. Many dependency cases run parallel to criminal cases. Statements in one can affect the other. The firm coordinates with criminal counsel where appropriate to ensure the dependency strategy does not undermine the criminal defense and vice versa.
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