I am pleased to share that my friend, geopolitical best-selling author, and fellow 'I CARE' Foundation board member Peter Thomas Senese has once again made a generous contribution to the not-for-profit International Child Abduction Research & Enlightnement Foundation I am proud to be a part of. For those of you who may not be familiar with my activity this past year working on behalf of children who are either at-risk of or have been internationally abducted, the I CARE Foundation is dedicated to protecting children and their targeted families from the risks of international parental child kidnapping and child trafficking.
New York City Based Attorney Joel Walter |
As an attorney who has practiced complex law for nearly 40 years, I have found many of these cases to be nothing short of pure tragedies.
The abuse that often occurs for both victimized child and targeted parent when a child is abducted is severe: short and long-term problems are common.
Worse, studies have demonstrated that approxiamately 10% of the anticiapted number of internationally kidnapped children (projected from 'reported' and 'unreported' cases: See 'Crisis In America') are returned. Tragically, some of these children will never come home: they can't. They are lost forever.
So as a litigator with a desire to make an impact against a pandemic that most individuals are not aware of, I have become actively involved in trying to push back the tide, if you will, and make a difference for defenseless children and their parents.
I am pleased with our effort thus far; however, there remains a lot to do.
Which requires a tremendous committment.
Fortunately for many children here in the United States, but in reality, all over the world, there are individuals willing to make that committment. I know I am 'in'.
Peter Thomas Senese |
One other person who is 'in' if you will, is child advocate Peter Thomas Senese. Sadly, Peter knows first-hand as a parent what it is like to have a child abducted under the rules of law established by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduciton. How do I know this? I was the first person he turned to when this happened.
Mr. Senese's continual financial support and dedication to children through his generous financial support of the I CARE Foundation has had a great influence on so many lives. It is with generous support such as what Peter has previously provided, what he continues to provide, and his honorable pledge for future support that the foundation, in part, has been able to create more than a few miracles. For example, as some of you may not be aware of, legally reuniting with a child wrongfully detained in Africa, and safely creating a path to bring that child or children back home to the United States is a very difficult task. One that has not happened too often in the grave world of international child abduction. In fact, It is a rarity.
However, the I CARE Foundation has in fact played significant roles in safely reuniting several abducted American children who were abducted to Africa this year. Part of the foundation's ability to help these parents was due to the fact the necessary resources were in place. I am proud to say that novelist Peter Thomas Senese played a key role, providing the resources needed to the I CARE Foundation in order to protect these children.
Previousl, Peter Thomas Senese has donated 100% of his e-book royalites from his international thrillers including 'Chasing The Cyclone', 'The Den of the Assassin', and 'Cloning Christ' to the I CARE Foundation. Outside of his book royalties, Peter has also made several important financial donations to the foundation.
International Parental Child Abduction could victimize as many as 125,000 American children over the next ten years. With only 10% of these kids coming home - and a growth rate of 20% per year due to an increase in multi-cultural relationships, limited abduction prevention laws, and rare cases where an abductor is held accountable, something must be done about it.
To learn more about International Parental Child Abduction, I am providing Part I in the Chasing Parent educational documentary film series created by Peter Thomas Senese and Florida CAPA law writer Carolyn Vlk below. To see the full videos please click here.
About Joel Walter
Experience:
Upon graduation from law school forty years ago, Mr. Walter was hired as a staff attorney by The Legal Aid Society of New York(”LAS”) in their Criminal Defense Division. At the LAS, he represented defendants from arraignment through plea or trial. The LAS promoted Mr. Walter, becoming a Federal Defender for complex cases heard before the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Walter was then promoted as a supervising attorney teaching newly hired LAS attorneys during a six week orientation program designed to provide them with the complex issues pertaining to client representation in Court. Mr. Walter was later promoted as the Attorney-Charge of the LAS’ Criminal Court Office the Bronx, New York, where he supervised between 30-35 lawyers, investigators and all support staff.
Mr. Walter left the LAS and entered private practice in Brooklyn,New York.. His main areas of practice have been in State and Federal criminal law as well as family law with an emphasis in contested custody issues. Joel has represented thousands of clients and has tried hundreds of cases to verdict in State and Federal Courts in and outside New York.
Mr Walter's major skill sets are in the areas of negotiation and trial work in the Criminal and Family Law arenas.
Education:
- Clark University, Worcester, Mass, B.A in History 1967
- SUNY Buffalo Law School, Juris Doctor in Law 1970
Bar Admissions:
- Appellate Division, First Department of New York
- The four Federal District Courts of New York (Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western)
- The Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals
Organizations:
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- New York Criminal Bar Association
- New York County Lawyers Association (member of the Criminal Law and Family Law sections)
- The Brooklyn Bar Association
- Board of Director: I CARE Foundation
Click here to contact New York Attorney Joel Walter.
Disclaimer: The content contained on this publicaton does not constitute legal advice of any kind.
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