Children & Family Law

According to the American Bar Association, state trial courts report nearly 5 million cases in the United States involving domestic relations. While this number continues to grow, the number of attorneys with specialized training in Children and Family Law lags in comparison. Students who have developed an interest in law, due to a desire to help, serve and assist families, should consider Capital's concentration in Children and Family Law.

The Children and Family Law concentration is a broad-based program and curriculum. It allows students the opportunity to gain experience in standard family law practice areas such as divorce and child custody and also more specialized areas such as juvenile justice, adoption law, school law, elder law, and sexual orientation and the law. In fact, the adoption law course at Capital is the only course in adoption law regularly taught at an American law school.

The Children and Family Law concentration is linked with the Law School's National Center for Adoption Law and Policy and the Family Advocacy Clinic. Both of these organizations allow Capital students opportunities for practical experience in the area of family law.

Capital's Children and Family Law Concentration and the National Center for Adoption Law are directed by Professor Angela Upchurch.

Capital now offers the Adoption Fellowship to students admitted to the Law School. For more inforamtion, visit this page.

Requirements:

11 credit hours of course work are required to obtain a certificate in this concentration. Students must also maintain a minimum 2.8 grade point average in the courses taken to satisfy the concentration.

Required Courses:

Family Law

At least two of the following:
Adoption Law
Elder Law
Juvenile Law
Sexual Orientation and the Law
Family Advocacy Clinic

Elective Courses:
Administrative Law
Legislation
School Law
Mediation
Dispute Resolution
Estates and Trusts

For more information on the Children & Family Law concentration, please contact Professor Kent Markus.