What is Family Law?
This section of the Center webpage has been put together to help you decide whether you want a career in the family law area and to assist you in your job search if family law is your chosen career.
One of the first things for you to think about is the broad range of areas that are covered under the general term, "family law." Family law includes marriage, divorce, custody, visitation, family support (spousal support, child support, domestic partners), child abuse and neglect, delinquency, adoption, estate planning, elder law, new reproductive technologies and a number of other areas. There are rewarding jobs in private practice and with public and private agencies and law reform organizations. When you are deciding what courses to take and whether you want to practice in this exciting, changing and challenging area of law, keep in mind that you may need to draw on a broad range of experiences and courses when you are developing your specialty area.
Traditional family law practice, for example, requires a number of skills including counseling, negotiation, research and writing, and trial advocacy. Attorneys who specialize in family law need the ability to work well with people in very stressful situations. One family law attorney put together a mock help-wanted ad to illustrate the diversity of family practice:
One of the first things for you to think about is the broad range of areas that are covered under the general term, "family law." Family law includes marriage, divorce, custody, visitation, family support (spousal support, child support, domestic partners), child abuse and neglect, delinquency, adoption, estate planning, elder law, new reproductive technologies and a number of other areas. There are rewarding jobs in private practice and with public and private agencies and law reform organizations. When you are deciding what courses to take and whether you want to practice in this exciting, changing and challenging area of law, keep in mind that you may need to draw on a broad range of experiences and courses when you are developing your specialty area.
Traditional family law practice, for example, requires a number of skills including counseling, negotiation, research and writing, and trial advocacy. Attorneys who specialize in family law need the ability to work well with people in very stressful situations. One family law attorney put together a mock help-wanted ad to illustrate the diversity of family practice:
Help Wanted: Family LawyersMust Be Able To:
Must Be Skilled In:
Must Be Proficient in the Following Areas of Law:
Must Be:
If you hold a license to practice law and can fill these requirements, you may undertake family law cases. [From Sara Valjcic, Family Law Careers (1998)] |
