NO MORE CASEBOOKS: USING SIMULATION‐BASED LEARNING TO EDUCATE FUTURE FAMILY LAW PRACTITIONERS

Teaching family law using the traditional casebook method provides students with marginal knowledge and skills. To practice family law, one needs to know how to interview and counsel clients, negotiate with opposing counsel, file pleadings and supporting documents, draft agreements, and understand tax consequences. Moreover, ethical issues abound in the practice of family law, such as confidentiality, conflict of interest, and fee arrangements. Critics of traditional pedagogies in legal academia have included the MacCrate Report, the Carnegie Report, and Best Practices for Legal Education. The Family Law Education Reform Project has focused its attention on the failure of law schools to keep pace with the ever‐evolving nature and requirements of family law practice. This article offers one answer to those who seek to educate law students in a manner that will better prepare them for the practice of family law. The author, who is the director of Vermont Law School's General Practice Program, describes a family law course she has developed and taught for many years. The course is taught in an integrative fashion, and includes substantive law, practice skills, and ethical and professionalism issues. She offers the course as a response and antidote to the ongoing criticisms of tradition a methods of teaching law.     

EMPOWERMENT,INNOVATION, AND SERVICE: LAW SCHOOL PROGRAMS PROVIDE ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND INSTILL A COMMITMENT TO SERVE

Law schools around the country seek to fill the legal needs of their communities in ways that are both innovative and mutually beneficial to clients and students. This article describes five pro bono and clinical programs, at the University of Richmond School of Law, The Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University, Catholic University Columbus School of Law, the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and Vermont Law School, where law students, under the supervision of law professors or community professionals, provide assistance or legal representation to underserved and often marginalized populations needing help with family law problems, including parents accused of abuse and neglect, youth aging out of foster care, homeless families, survivors of domestic violence, homeless veterans with addiction problems, and female prisoners. To develop their programs, the five law schools from the outset collaborated with partners in the community, and they continue to do so as their programs expand and evolve. In addition to helping and empowering clients, these law schools are providing experiential learning opportunities that are transformative for their students. The authors hope that these programs will be instructive for law schools, other academic institutions, the legal community, and community organizations in developing creative collaborations to ensure better access to justice.     

THE POTENTIAL OF THE FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT FOR FAMILY LAWYERS1

Family lawyers are major beneficiaries of the reforms set out in the Family Law Education Reform Project (FLER) Report. This commentary from a veteran family law practitioner explores the needs of the family law bar for the training of law students in practical, interdisciplinary, client‐centered lawyering that goes beyond the traditional case method. I trace many of the current innovations evolving in family law practice and how FLER reforms will not only benefit law schools but also have a major impact in the courts and private practice sector.     

WHAT SHOULD FAMILY LAWYERS KNOW? RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF PRACTITIONERS AND STUDENTS1

The contemporary practice of family law demands that lawyers know far more than the law. Results of a recent survey of professionals and law students suggest that today's family lawyer needs knowledge and skills that are often missing from law school curricula. Survey respondents emphasized the importance of strong interpersonal skills like listening, negotiation, and working with clients in emotional crisis, as well as keen understanding of financial issues in family law, the impact of separation and divorce on children, and the ethical dimensions of family law practice. Law students held contrasting views to law faculty and to practicing attorneys on a number of measures, ranking adversarial courtroom skills as more important and placing less emphasis on skills, knowledge, and attributes related to ethics.     

THE FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT FINAL REPORT

The Family Law Education Reform Project (the FLER Project) is co‐sponsored by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the Center for Children, Families and the Law at Hofstra Law School. This Final Report is based on a series of dialogues between family law academics and practitioners from many disciplines, a FLER Project survey, and research conducted by law students at Hofstra University and Northeastern University. 2     

Reprinted from Vol. 44 No. 4 in Honor of Professor J. Herbie DiFonzo. The Family Law Education Reform Project Final Report†

The Family Law Education Reform Project (the FLER Project) is co‐sponsored by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the Center for Children, Families and the Law at Hofstra Law School. This Final Report is based on a series of dialogues between family law academics and practitioners from many disciplines, a FLER Project survey, and research conducted by law students at Hofstra University and Northeastern University. 2     

三十年来中国婚姻法“回归民法”的反思——兼论保持与发展婚姻法独立部门法传统

20世纪80年代以来中国婚姻法开启了"回归民法"的进程,其旨在以民法典的体系化与私法理论推动家事领域的立法改革。然而,实践显示,此举不仅无法实现理论整合、促进掌握法律原理的体系化初衷,反而加剧了婚姻法与民法法律制度与理论的冲突、婚姻法理解的混乱和新创设制度实施上的困难;另一方面则已成为家事领域自由泛滥的制度原因,与婚姻法保护家庭弱者权益、维护家庭稳定的宗旨相悖,误导了立法、司法实践与社会舆论。究其制度理论根源,在于对婚姻法调整对象与调整方法的特殊性,以及婚姻法定位与家事领域自由的关系,乃至婚姻家庭法对社会秩序及道德文化建设的重要意义认识不清。婚姻家庭是人与人全面合作的伦理实体,婚姻家庭关系具有强烈的伦理性,其调整方法也迥异于一般民事关系,并不随着市场经济的建立而发生本质改变。婚姻法独立于民法是法学史上的进步。突出婚姻家庭法的伦理性,维护婚姻家庭的稳定,保持并发展婚姻法独立部门法传统,符合婚姻家庭关系调整的内在需要,有利于解决当前家事法领域的诸多冲突,对制度建设、社会文化建设及学科发展均具有积极影响。     

HOFSTRA'S FAMILY LAW WITH SKILLS COURSE: IMPLEMENTING FLER (THE FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT)

The Family Law Education Reform Project (FLER) Final Report documented that the current doctrinally oriented family law curriculum at most law schools does not adequately prepare students for modern family law practice. FLER recommended that law school courses move from the study of cases to the study of the legal system's effect on families, and integrate the study of alternative dispute resolution and interdisciplinary knowledge. In response, Hofstra Law School has made a comprehensive attempt to implement FLER's curricular recommendations. This article discusses one major innovation – the Family Law with Skills course. Family Law with Skills is the basic course in Hofstra's revised curriculum and is designed to integrate doctrinal teaching with professional skills development. In addition to studying legal doctrine, students are required to engage in structured field observation of family court proceedings; interviewing, counseling, negotiation, and mediation representation exercises in a divorce dispute; direct and cross examination of a social worker in a child protection dispute; and drafting of a surrogacy agreement. The article describes each exercise and discusses its rationale, student reaction to the course, and lessons learned.     

Academic perspectives on teaching international family law in higher education institutions in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

The increasing prevalence of family law disputes in England and Wales with an international element is well documented in the development of domestic legislation, case law and family practice. However, despite changes to the legal landscape and the academic recognition of international family law as a legal subject, it is still often disregarded within the undergraduate family law curriculum or as a standalone module. This article explores the development of international family law in England and Wales and presents the findings of a national questionnaire into whether international family law is taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum. The article also explores what barriers exist to including international family law topics. To conclude, the author offers some general advice about incorporating these topics into the curriculum to ensure that students are equipped to deal with the realities of family practice in England and Wales.     

FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT: A FACULTY PERSPECTIVE

The Family Law Education Reform Project Report calls for shifting the family law teaching paradigm from a focus on case‐based analysis toward a problem‐solving, interdisciplinary approach. This essay encourages law professors to take seriously this shifting teaching and learning paradigm. Aligning family law curriculum with the realities of practicing family law is a critical step in this process. This essay discusses the numerous intellectual challenges family law professors will face as they reflect on the proposed FLER Project curriculum.     

法科教育中法律仪式教育的意义及其实现

法律仪式作为仪式的一种特殊形式体现在法律运行的整个过程之中。法律仪式有规则化的（制度化的）与未被规则化的之分。规则化了的法律仪式零散存在于我国法律法规之中,呈碎片化特征。法律仪式教育在我国法科教育中散见于部门法学的教学中,内容多为规则化了的法律仪式。法学教课书中并没有法律仪式这一概念,未被规则化的法律仪式在法科教育中是不存在的。法律仪式教育对法科学生的技能与职业道德的培养有着积极意义。     

Introduction

The Roberta Kevelson Seminar on Law and Semiotics is integrated in the regular program of a US Law School and student enrollment is honored with credit points. Hitherto, the study of Legal Semiotics has mainly been located outside the Law Schools in the US and the Faculties of Law in the EU. Two important questions within the more general theme of Legal Semiotics and Legal Education arose: (1) the program requirements in an education context, and (2) the attention and interests of the students. This IJSL issue offers essays presented during the Round Table which closed the Seminar, provides some experience-based suggestions for a Seminar program and discusses how to deal with the pragmatic attitude of law students. It interests how those topics relate to legal and semiotic literature and how they focus globally important viewpoints, as can be concluded in the example of the legal semiotics of family structures.     

刑事法律亲情体恤之法律效益——基于我国现行刑事法律亲情法律地位缺失的思考

从表面上看,提高法律效益与亲情体恤是相互矛盾的,似乎要提高法律效益就得以牺牲亲情体恤为代价。事实与之正好相反,缺乏亲情体恤的法律是最没有效益的。法律只有充分体现亲情体恤才有可能获得社会成员的普遍认同、信仰与遵循,法律调整的实际状况和结果才能反映或体现创制法律的社会目的,也就是法律才能产生预期的效益。     

国家干预家庭暴力的限度研究

鉴于家庭自治的局限性和私权与公共利益保护的迫切需要,国家干预家庭暴力有其必要性和正当性。目前国家干预家庭暴力的态度积极,但是部分干预方式差强人意。国家干预家庭暴力必须保证婚姻家庭内部规则的有效运行,应当秉承切忌法律万能论、尊重家庭自治和适当注意的基本原则,其具体干预方式包括但不限于维持家庭内部秩序、建立家庭自治的约束机制和适当增加强制性措施等。作为国家干预家庭暴力的典型例证,《反家庭暴力法》必须尊重家庭内部规则,建立家庭自治的约束机制,确保国家干预家庭暴力的适时性和有限性,这是《反家庭暴力法》有效运行的基本途径。     

家庭暴力的法律思考

家庭暴力已经成为全球性的社会问题,如何有效地预防和解决这种社会现象成为我国面临的重大课题。我国反对家庭暴力的立法存在对家庭暴力的定义太狭窄、针对家庭暴力案件缺少专门证据规则、政府在解决家庭暴力问题职责的规定缺乏等缺陷,应采取制定一部专门的《家庭暴力防治法》、完善相关法律等对策。     

如何打造优秀的法学教育

朗戴尔法学教育理论和教学法是美国法学院占主导地位的教育模式,备受推崇。然而在理论上,它具有明显的缺陷;在实践中,则造成了学生与法律实践相脱节的后果。它认为法律学科的全部资料都储存在出版物之中。封闭性、复古性、考据性成为构建朗戴尔方法的基石,形成了一个建立在书本资料上的伪科学体系。法学院应当完全抛弃朗戴尔教学法,直接面对社会问题,在更高层次上回归学徒制度,以律师事务所模式为法学教育的核心,以执业者为教师,以现实社会中的法律问题为教学内容,刻不容缓地推行法学教育实验。     

Student-led law reviews: what every UK law school needs?

In the United States (US) student-run law reviews have long offered students the opportunity to develop their skills as editors and members of a publication team and to engage with new legal research. With law ordinarily taught as a three-year postgraduate degree, these reviews are normally staffed by a postgraduate editorial team. Similar efforts in the United Kingdom (UK) have largely been short-lived. Some venerable academic journals, such as the Cambridge Law Journal, started their lives as student-centred projects, but academics soon assumed control of the process because of the variable quality of undergraduate editing. This false start proved difficult to recover from, but a spate of newly founded student law reviews in the last decade suggests that these publications have increasing traction in UK legal education. This article evaluates the challenges and potential benefits of these efforts to translate US practice into UK law schools in light of the experience of creating and maintaining the North East Law Review, a student-led periodical based at Newcastle University which publishes student-generated content based on high-quality coursework submissions. This process potentially enhances the assessment process, with the student editorial team preparing essays for publication and student authors re-engaging with their work in light of feedback. Publishing such essays furthermore allows all students to benchmark their own work against excellent coursework performance.     

THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS: USING FILM TO TEACH FAMILY LAW

This article discusses the aspects of narrative and character development that make films a useful tool to supplement classroom legal education. Moreover, utilizing film is particularly effective for learning and exploring the dynamics of human relationships at the center of family law cases. When designing a film and family law course instructors should seek to promote creative thinking, cultural competence, student exploration of bias and assumptions and best practices for attorneys based on the examples provided in the film. Films make the learning process more fun, but still provide substantial opportunities to broaden students' concept of the impact of law on family members.     

家庭权的私法保障

宪法对家庭的保护意味着既禁止国家对其实施直接侵害,又要求国家颁布法律以落实宪法精神。《婚姻法》作为规范家庭成员权利义务关系的基本法,其关于家庭的制度构建及完善直接影响着公民家庭权益的实现。我国应借鉴国际社会家庭形式多元化与子女利益最大化之理念,弥补传统法的缺陷,完善家庭扶养制度,实现家庭养老与社会保障的互为补充;拓展家庭的法律内涵,赋予同居伴侣平等的家庭权益保护;健全人工生殖规范,明确人工生殖子女的法律地位;完善家庭暴力的防治立法,让家庭和谐在私法自治与公权干预的最佳平衡间实现。     

A common law fly on the transsystemic wall: observing the integrated method at McGill Faculty of Law

Law schools attempting to prepare students for a more global practice are generally advised to tailor a law curriculum to their individual resources. When offering comparative perspectives, some law school programmes have pedagogical advantages arising out of a mixed legal heritage, such as McGill Faculty of Law’s transsystemic approach. What does the transsystemic approach entail, and can aspects of the transsystemic approach, which is grounded in Québec’s bijural and bilingual context, be practised at national-focus law schools? In order to consider this question, the author observed classroom dynamics in first year transsystemic courses. The McGill experience cannot be imported, but its pedagogy offers key lessons for common law national-focus law schools, including the need to make alternative visions of law necessary for understanding.