New York Domestic Relations Law

Develop a strong foundation in family law.

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, including issues affecting 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 shapes the law, focusing on the application of broader family law principles in practice in the New York State court system.