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

Abstract

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.

AFCC Think Tanks: Promoting Dialogue on Difficult Issues in Family Law*

“…Each special issue of FCR included invited articles. For FLER, the articles were based on studies related to negotiation (Schneider & Mills, 2006) and legal education (Hedeen & Salem, 2006). For Wingspread and Closing the Gap, the writing assignments were more strategic.…”

“…FLER preparation was more extensive. In addition to the preliminary meeting with law professors, open discussion forums were held at several conferences and a survey of practitioners, law professors, and students was conducted (Hedeen & Salem, ). Formal and informal information gathering tailored to each think tank focus also occurred for Wingspread and Closing the Gap.…”

Among, Within, and Between: Attorneys on Reconciliation in Divorce Proceedings

“…Other scholars have noted similar discrepancies between legal education and practice, contending that the adversarial posture cultivated in traditional legal courses is insufficient and often contrary to the needs of family law clients (Langan, 2011). In a survey asking professors, practitioners, and students to rank knowledge and skills important to family law, Hedeen and Salem (2006) found that students placed greater emphasis on acquiring adversarial courtroom skills and less emphasis on ethical understanding and behavior than both professors and practitioners.…”

Meeting the Increasing Demands on Family Attorneys Representing Clients with Mental Health Challenges

“…Taken together, the high incidence of psychological distress and mental illness or dementia intersect with the increasingly decentralized and complex evolving mechanisms in family court to heighten the need for family attorneys to improve their toolkit. Book learning is insufficient to address their contemporary challenges and relevant skill building is too often omitted from the law school curriculum (Hedeen & Salem, ). Bloom's three domains of learning (Bloom, ) are the inspiration for a more comprehensive focus on improving knowledge (cognitive domain), skills (psychomotor), and attitudes (affective).…”