The Poverty of Family Law: New Perspectives on Parents' Rights

This event is free, open to the public, and may offer a virtual option. Find tickets here. 

There has long been a deep and racialized divide in family law scholarship between “private” family law (read affluent families) and “public” family law (read economically disadvantaged families). The former dominates scholarship, along with pedagogy and advocacy, whereas the latter is discussed, if at all, mostly in clinical and poverty law scholarship. This divide is not a new phenomenon. Nonetheless, its consequences are increasingly salient. This divide has real and meaningful effects on families and the people in them, on the law itself, on law reform efforts, and on the ability of policymakers to achieve meaningful change. The divide further positions almost all marginalized families and parents—by poverty, race, disability, immigration status, etc.—on the “public law” side, the ignored side, while a stereotypical “American family” about which most students learn and on which policymakers focus generally more access to legal services.

Hosted by the NYU Law Review, this symposium seeks to address this divide. Bringing together scholars, practitioners, organizers, and impacted parents across the field, we will aim to move beyond the academic conversation to one that also seeks to address questions of sociological change. In particular, we will discuss gaps and disparities in the family law system, missing voices in the family law legal curriculum, the interplay between culture wars and democratic projects on parenting, and visions for the future.

The NYU Law Review is proud to partner with NYU Professors of Law Erika Wilson and Chris Gottlieb, UC Davis Professors of Law Courtney Joslin and Nila Bala, and Brooklyn Professor of Law Cynthia Godsoe. Dr. Khiara M. Bridges will present the keynote address, and we hope to be joined by and hear from impacted persons on the day.

Agenda:

9:00–9:15am: Opening Remarks

9:15–10:30am: Panel 1, The Family Law We Don’t Teach

10:45–12:00pm: Panel 2, Family Law’s New Public/Private Divide

12:30–1:30pm: Keynote Address by Dr. Khiara M. Bridge

1:45–3:00pm: Panel 3, Parental Rights and the Democratic Project

3:15–4:30pm: Panel 4, Paths to Transformative Change