Students were responsible for weekly assigned materials on matrimonial, dependency, delinquency, adoption and status offense issues currently before the courts and legislature of the state. Assigned materials provided necessary theoretical and historical background as well as current statutes, regulations, case law and practitioner-oriented updates.

At the end of the semester, each student is required to research and write a paper, which is available below. All students seeking to graduate in the Program in Family Law must present their final paper for this seminar in a public forum at the end of the semester.

Questions about these papers, or about the Family Law Program, should be directed to Susan Vivian Mangold, professor and co-director of the Family Law Program.

• Jennifer Bryant ‘13 - Real Families: NY Needs to Step Up and Recognize the De Facto Parent Doctrine for Step Parents [PDF]
  
• Alyssa Jordan ‘13 - The Role of the Attorney for the Child and No-Fault Divorce in NYS: A New Setting for the Accepted Model of Representation [PDF]
• Elizabeth Lee‘13 - NYS Child Support Law and the Exclusion of Higher Education Funding: Mandating College Support in the Best Interests of the Child [PDF]
• Richard Phillips ‘13 - Employing Modern Forensic Technology: Improving Outcomes in Family and Domestic Violence Cases [PDF]
• Neasa Seneca ‘13 - The ICWA Adoption Case in the 2013 Supreme Court Term: Implications for the Interpretation of ICWA in NYS [PDF]
  

Students graduating in the Program in Family Law presented their research at a presentation held on May 3, 2013. Their papers are available below.

• Allison Bozinski '13 - Gifts in Contemplation of Marriage: The Impact of Same Sex Marriage [PDF]
  
• Sara Stoessel '13 - Enforcing Gestational Surrogacy Contracts in New York State: Advances in Reproductive Technology, Same Sex Marriage and the Marital Presumption [PDF]
  
• Rebecka Neyman ‘13 - The Times They Are A-Changin’: The Use of Parent Partnership Websites and the Legal Implications of Co-Parenting [PDF]
  
• Melissa Paluch ‘13 - Strangulation in Domestic Violence Cases: Overcoming Evidentiary Challenges to Reduce Lethality [PDF]
  
• Kathryn Exoo ‘13 - Protective Orders and Guns: Using the SAFE Act to Reduce Intimate Partner Homicide [PDF]
  
• Bryan Daniels ‘13 - Amending Leandra’s Law: Shifting the Focus from Punishing Drunk Drivers to Protecting Kids in the Back Seat [PDF]
  
• Valerie Stanek ‘13 - Mediation and Elder Law: Establishing Uniform Guidelines for Mediators to Address Diminished Capacity [PDF]