Child and Family LawThe legal system is called upon to solve a host of societal problems, but none more fundamental and complex than the problems of planning and adjustment of relationships within families. The demand for legal services for families is great: more people use an attorney to address family law issues than any other legal need; over half of all state court cases involve domestic relations matters. Moreover, these cases routinely require more than mere legal advocacy or negotiation. The field of family law requires an entirely different type of lawyer – one who can work collaboratively with professionals from a wide variety of disciplines to craft creative and just solutions and empower clients to work together toward long-term solutions.The UMKC School of Law Emphasis in Child and Family Law prepares students to serve these pressing and unique legal needs. The program prepares students to serve the whole family -- from infants to elders -- and maintains a unique collaborative and interdisciplinary framework. The emphasis program requires that students master the basic doctrine and legal theories involved when the legal system interacts with families. In addition, however, students undertake study exposing them to the perspectives of other disciplines such as psychology and social work. Students study the unique ethical dilemmas of this area of law in specialized workshops and gain hands-on experience in representing children and families in the program’s clinical components. Finally, all students in the emphasis complete an in-depth capstone research and writing project. Students who qualify for and successfully complete the credential requirements in the Child and Family Law program should be in an excellent position to pursue and succeed in careers serving children, families and elders, whether in private or government practice or in other leadership roles.
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