New York Domestic Relations

This course will familiarize you with the doctrine and practice of the ever-changing landscape of family law in New York State, while helping to develop lawyering skills that will enable you to practice in the Family and Supreme Courts of New York. This course covers selected statutes from the NY Domestic Relations Law and the Family Court Act, encompassing issues that affect marriage, divorce, child support, custody and visitation, parentage, equitable distribution of property, spousal maintenance, family offense proceedings, child protection, and adoption. You will work on problems that will enable you to practice law, integrating doctrine, policy analysis, and procedure into a cohesive framework from which trial strategies are crafted. Inherent in our analysis of family law is a critique of social policy as it gives shape to the law, focusing on the application of broader family law issues to practice in the New York State court system.

Karen Simmons

B.A., Duke University, 1986.
M.P.A., John Jay College of Criminal Justice CUNY, 1990.
J.D., City University School of Law, 1994.
NY Bar 1995.
Karen P. Simmons, Esq. is a creative trauma informed leader and advocate who has been focused and dedicated to mission driven organizations having strong leadership.  Throughout the course of a career in social-sector leadership and legal advocacy, Karen has had leadership roles within the state court system,  non-profit social justice, and legal community-based organizations.  She is an expert at strategic planning, infrastructure development, operations, leadership development, and innovation. She has expertise in utilizing data as she is mapping and managing change for growth-stage organizations.