Law Students Gather in Columbus for Intense Study of Adoption, Child Welfare Issues

July 26, 2007

Capital University Law School and the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy will provide intensive training to future attorneys who plan to practice child welfare and adoption law – a growing specialty in family law – during the Summer Adoption Law Institute, set for July 30-Aug. 4.

The event will take place at Capital University Law School, 303 E. Broad St., downtown.

This year, more than 54 students from 17 law schools nationwide will attend the adoption law institute, a two-credit, intensive study of adoption and related child-protection issues not available to many students at their home law schools. The adoption law institute will examine issues such as the history of American adoption law, adoption procedure, termination of parental rights, assisted reproductive technology, and sexual orientation in connection with adoption and parental consent.

Students also will hear about adoption law and practice issues from diverse groups of guest panelists ranging from adoptive parents to practicing adoption attorneys, and agency and court representatives. Guest lecturers will include Franklin County Probate Judge Lawrence Belskis; Ellen Yarrell, president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; and Columbus attorney Thomas Taneff, recipient of the Congressional Angel in Adoption Award, among others.

The course will be taught by Angela Upchurch, Real Living academic director of the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy and associate professor of law at Capital University Law School. Upchurch is a former law clerk to Judge Michael Murphy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Salt Lake City. She also served as law clerk to Judge Avern Cohn of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was editor-in-chief of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal and recipient of the Loyola University Chicago Presidential Medallion.

For more information about the Summer Adoption Law Institute please visit www.law.capital.edu/adoption/sali.htm, call (614) 236-6730, or e-mail the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at adoption@law.capital.edu.

Founded in 1998, the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital University Law School seeks to improve the laws, policies and practices associated with child protection and adoption systems. The center’s activities focus on research, education and advocacy. In November 2006, NCALP was honored with the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Organization of the Year Award.

Founded in 1903, Capital University Law School offers three degree programs – a Juris Doctor, LL.M. and a Master in Taxation. The Law School also houses the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy, the Center for Dispute Resolution and the Tobacco Public Policy Center. In addition to enrolling nearly 1,000 students, Capital Law School also serves legal and business professionals through certificate programs and a variety of scholarly symposia and conferences.