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Home / Academics / Areas of Study / Family Law

Family Law

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Family Law

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Requirements:

15 credits from the​ following courses and additional experiential credits:

Required:

  • Title
  • Credits
  • Family Law
    Credits: 3

    ​Family Law examines state regulation and intrusion into the family and the constitutional limitations and rights therein. The course will introduce students to the primary triad of interests: the parents, the child and the state. Additionally, the course will introduce students to the evolution of families and how family law has responded to social change. Topics will include the varying definitions of a "family", the legal relationships between parent and child, the nature of marriage and civil unions, family after separation or divorce, child custody, paternity/maternity, child support, child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, the foster care system, adoption, domestic violence, reproductive rights, privacy, gender and caretaking, and the role of the family court system. Further, the course will examine issues of intersectionality based upon race and socioeconomic class. The classroom is primarily lecture-based with opportunities to participate in classroom simulations, petition-drafting, and small group activities.

    Breger, Melissa

Electives:

At least 3 credits fro​m the following courses:

  • Bioethics Seminar
    Credits: 2

    ​Explores bioethics issues such as clinical decision making, informed consent, organ donation and transplantation, physician assisted suicide, ethics in managed care, death and dying, and medical research.

    Tenenbaum, Evelyn

  • Children and the Law
    Credits: 3

    Children and the Law examines the distribution of power and interactions among the child, the family, and various state agencies. The course will explore the constitutional, statutory and common law rights of parents and children in various settings, including the child welfare system, the juvenile delinquency system, persons in need of supervision and the foster care system. Students will learn the different approaches for the role of the child’s attorney and analyze best practices for representing children in a wide range of legal matters, including tort law, contract law, criminal law, family law. The classroom is primarily lecture-based with opportunities to participate in classroom simulations, petition-drafting, and small group activities. ​

    Breger, Melissa

  • Children, Juveniles and the Law
    Credits: 2

    This paper course examines the triad of rights among the child, the family, and the state. It will delve into constitutional law, statutory and administrative law and policy and case law precedent as the child moves through the court system as a subject infant child all the way to a child as a juvenile facing adult criminal charges. The bulk of the course will center around the juvenile court system, child abuse and neglect proceedings, juvenile delinquency and the emerging rights of children as litigants. Students cannot receive credit for this class and Children and the Law.

    Breger, Melissa

  • Client Interviewing and Counseling
    Credits: 3

    Uses a client-centered approach to develop skills in using active listening, dealing with difficult clients, building questioning techniques, developing theories, identifying alternatives and consequences, and engendering client decision-making.

    Connors, Joseph M.

  • Domestic Violence Seminar
    Credits: 3

    Explores in depth the legal issues and discrete phenomena of domestic violence. Topics generally include intimate partner violence, criminal prosecution of batterers, child abuse and neglect, gay and lesbian battering, elder abuse, and the basis for intervention of the state. ​

    Lynch, Mary A.

  • Elder Law
    Credits: 3

    ​Provides an overview of legal and policy questions relating to aging individuals and an older and aging society.

    Bailly, Rose Mary

  • From Obamacare to Trumpcare: Healthcare and Retirement Planning in 2020
    Credits: 3

    The number of elderly Americans is projected to increase significantly over the next few decades. Life expectancy is still increasing; the economy and job growth are sluggish; millions of Americans lack adequate health insurance; health care costs are rising at a rate far higher than the general inflation rate; and the Administration and state governments are attempting to implement the Affordable Care Act in the face of budgetary constraints and implacable opposition from certain groups.

    The course will cover:

    1.      Federal pension law under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code;

    2.      Social Security and Medicare coverage and benefits, including policy and financial issues; and

    3.      The major new rules under the Affordable Care Act relating to access to health care, how health care is provided and financed, patient protections, employer-provided benefits and quality improvement.

    Pratt, David

  • Gender and the Law
    Credits: 3

    Explores feminist theory, constitutional equality, issues of gender and sexuality, intimate partner and family violence, childhood sexual abuse, reproduction, parenting and children, sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, trafficking and prostitution, and other topics relating to the intersection of gender and the law.

    Breger, Melissa

  • International Child Rights
    Credits: 3

    I​nternational child rights will focus on interpretation and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC, adopted by the General Assembly in 1989, is the most-ratified treaty in the world. The CRC addresses a wide variety of themes including discrimination, armed conflicts, prison, family life and education, to list just a few examples. This course will approach the CRC as it is understood by lawyers, by activists, and by academics from all around the world. participants will learn how to research and write in the area of international human rights, with a focus on child rights.

    Prior knowledge of International Law and Human Rights is not required. International Child Rights is open to all. Grading will be evaluated on the basis of papers and class participation. There will be no final examination.​

    Farley, Anthony Paul

  • Matrimonial Law and Practice
    Credits: 3

    ​Studies substantive and procedural law pertaining to marital dissolution, combining conceptual analysis with practical matters involved in representing a client with a matrimonial problem.

    Tippins, Timothy M., Esq. '74

  • Negotiating for Lawyers
    Credits: 3

    ​Introduces negotiation skills, offering hands-on experience preparing for and negotiating legal issues.

    Maurer, Nancy M.

  • Surrogate's Court Procedure
    Credits: 3

    ​Provides exposure to technical skills needed to represent clients successfully in estate matters. Emphasizes procedural aspects of estate work and precise methodology to present the client's case, as petitioner or objectant.

    Morgan, Paul V., Jr., Esq. '90

  • Survey of Long Term Care, Financial and Special Needs Planning
    Credits: 2

    This course provides an introduction to practical topics in estate, long term care, special needs and financial planning, including advance directives for financial management and health care decisions, guardianship for individuals with developmental disabilities, long term care planning, revocable living trusts, special needs planning and trust administration and retirement plans. This course will also cover federal and New York State entitlement programs that support individuals with disabilities in all ages.

    ​In lieu of an examination, this course involves pop quizzes throughout the semester and a final project. Students form teams of two and three (though it is permissible to work alone) and prepare a plan for a hypothetical individual or family situation, taking into account all relevant factors as taught throughout the semester. The project consists of preparation of an explanatory cover letter to the hypothetical client addressing all factors raised in the client scenario. This course is designed to provide an experience that is directly transferable to practice.

    Prerequisite: Trusts and Estates

    Pleat, Tara Anne, Esq. '02

  • Trusts and Estates
    Credits: 3

    ​Focuses on laws of interstate succession; execution, revocation, probate, and construction of wills; non-probate transfers; nature and creation of express, resulting and constructive trusts; powers of appointment; and fiduciary administration.

    Bloom, Ira Mark

    Pratt, David

    Kearns, Deborah, Esq. '00

One of the Following Options:

  • New York Practice I (3) and New York Practice II (3 credits)
  • OR

  • New York Practice Survey (4 credits)

Experiential Requirement:

Participation in at least one of the​ following experiential programs:​

Clinic, Field Placement or SIP related to Family Law (approval by faculty advisor)

Writing Requirement:

Students are required to complete one significant piece of writing in the concentration area. The writing requirement does not require that students earn any credits beyond the required credits described above. The topic and the arrangement for fulfilling the writing requirement, however, must be approved in advance by the Concentration Advisor. The paper could be written to fulfill the requirements of a course, an independent study, or a law journal note and comment. It may also be possible to fulfill this requirement by completing a substantial piece of writing in conjunction with an experiential course, clinic, or Field Placement, such as a brief, a series of Motions, or a significant legal memorandum. It could also be fulfilled by writing a paper independently, such as a submission to a writing competition or an article for publication. In all of these arrangements, the prior approval of the Concentration Advisor is required.

(Effective December 18, 2018)

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