Family Law Facing Tradition, Embracing Change Family law may be one of the most dynamic areas of law today, given that the very definition of family is in a state of change.

BY EILEEN FORD, JD . . MSU-DCL Concentrations • Corporate Law • Environmental and Natural Resource Law • Family Law • Health Law • Intellectual Property and Communications Law • International and Comparative Law • Taxation Law A number of programs at MSU-DCL are designed to prepare students to practice in this challenging area of law where traditional systems constantly confront the nontraditional realities of today’s families. These programs combine rigorous academic offerings with clinical opportunities in real-world settings. The Chance at Childhood Program and the Family Law Concentration offer MSU-DCL students not only a way to better prepare themselves for the practice of family law, but also a chance to serve the children and families in their community. Concentrating in Family Law Family Law is one of the newest concentrations to be offered by the school; at its foundation are the two required courses, Family Law I and II. Students can then choose 12 or more credits from a list of 15 other courses to complete the concentration. Family Law I, which deals primarily with marriage and divorce, is taught by Cynthia Starnes, professor at MSU-DCL for the past 14 years and currently co-chair of the Family Law Concentration. Professor Starnes, whose commentaries on the need for reform in the law of family dissolution have appeared in several leading journals, expresses unmitigated enthusiasm about the school’s recent initiatives in the family law practice area. She is especially excited about the addition of Professor Melanie Jacobs to the faculty. Cynthia Starnes Professor Jacobs came to MSU-DCL from Temple University School of Law, where she served as a Freedman Fellow and a lecturer in law. In her Family Law II class, students examine a broad range of modern family issues, including paternity, domestic violence, abuse and neglect, adoption, surrogacy, reproductive technology, and the relationship among the child, family and state. “We’re talking about redefining family in our new millennium,” says Professor Jacobs. “It’s not the Cleavers anymore.” Melanie Jacobs The college’s seven concentrations are available to any student interested in developing expertise in specific areas of the law. Professor Jacobs believes the concentrations benefit even those students who don’t complete one. “I think the concentrations mean that we have a nice array of courses—students can choose from a wonderful menu and can get a broad base.” For those students who know that they wish to focus on family law, the concentration allows them to distinguish themselves as uniquely qualified. “It will be a marketing advantage when [students] are seeking employment and they apply to a family law firm,” continues Professor Jacobs. “They can point to the Family Law Concentration, and they are that much better prepared.” Joseph Kozakiewicz Giving Children a Chance at Childhood Other opportunities for students with a particular interest in helping at-risk children and families are available through the Chance at Childhood Program, a joint offering of MSU-DCL and the MSU School of Social Work. From its beginnings, the program has promoted and protected the well being of children and families through integrated education and advocacy. According to the program’s new director, Joseph Kozakiewicz, the three distinct components that make up the program—continuing education for practitioners, the Child & Family Advocacy Certificate Program for law and social work students, and the Chance at Childhood Child Advocacy Clinic—are designed to accomplish that mission. Continuing Education for Professionals Chance at Childhood has offered numerous seminars that provide legal and social work practitioners, as well as members of the community, with the skills and knowledge to effectively advocate for children. Programs have been taught by medical, legal and social work professionals with extensive experience in dealing with children’s issues. The program also provides publication resources to professionals and community members. Preparing Law and Social Work Students The Chance at Childhood Child & Family Advocacy Certificate Program has established curriculum for law and graduate-level social work students. It is one of two certificate programs available at MSU-DCL and can be completed concurrently with the social work and law degree requirements. To earn the certificate, students take Child Welfare, a course offered by the School of Social Work, and complete other selected courses offered by the law college. In addition, students participate in an integrative seminar in law and social work. Finally, they may complete an internship in the new Chance at Childhood Child Advocacy Clinic. . . MSU-DCL Certificates • Chance at Childhood Child & Family Advocacy Certificate • The Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute Trial Practice Certificate Providing Experiential Learning Just opening its doors is the third and possibly most ambitious of the Chance at Childhood’s initiatives, the Child Advocacy Clinic. Housed with MSU-DCL’s Rental Housing and Tax clinics, the Child Advocacy Clinic provides a unique model designed to maximize the learning experience of the students and the quality of representation provided to the clients. Law students and School of Social Work graduate students work in cooperative pairs to advocate for children in the court system. . . MSU-DCL Clinics • Chance at Childhood Child Advocacy Clinic • Environmental Law Consulting Clinic • Rental Housing Clinic • Small Business and Nonprofit Clinic • Tax Clinic Kozakiewicz explains the need for close collaboration between the attorney and the social worker: “The attorney will be communicating directly with the court and act as advocate, but in cooperation with the social worker as to what the recommendation will be. The social worker will be testifying as to the basis for the recommendation.” Professor MaryAnn Pierce, MSU-DCL’s director of clinical programs, believes that all of the clinics could benefit from the Chance at Childhood model: “The social work discipline provides the counseling piece that will help to make the law MaryAnn Pierce students better lawyers. A lawyer is thinking about the legal issues facing a client in crisis. The social worker is seeing that the client is in crisis, and is evaluating the risks.” Pierce is already an enthusiastic proponent of experiential learning, and she believes that the multi-disciplinary approach taken by the Chance at Childhood clinic will enhance the experience. Kimberly Steed is the education program director for the MSU Kimberly Steed School of Social Work and is equally optimistic about the benefits of the clinic for social work students: “For students earning a master’s in social work, there is a field, or clinical, requirement of 240 hours a semester, about 16 hours each week. Child welfare, in particular, is a combination of social work and legal knowledge.” Kozakiewicz hopes that the clinic’s students eventually will be working in all the areas that involve children in the court system: custody cases, neglect, abuse, guardianship, and juvenile delinquency. He realizes that this won’t happen overnight. “Our goal this semester is to make ourselves known to other service providers and to the courts and legal community, and then to start handling cases,” he reports. “Kids don’t walk in and ask for representation; the court must appoint an advocate. We’re meeting with court administrators, introducing ourselves and letting them know how the clinic can help.” The reaction from the legal and social services community has been consistently enthusiastic. Sharing that enthusiasm are Professors Jacobs and Starnes, both of whom have met with their colleagues at the School of Social Work about the Chance at Childhood Program. Professor Starnes views the cross-training between social work and law as the beginning of a much needed process that will afford not just law students, but lawyers and especially judges, some important opportunities. “It’s important to connect some of the empirical studies from social work into our practice and into the law,” says Starnes. “The over-arching rule in custody cases is the ‘best interests of the children,’ but the law is making some serious mistakes in that area. We need to work with social workers to find out how to give children a voice without traumatizing them.” Professor Jacobs points out that, while the Chance at Childhood Program has always been involved in placing student externs in various community agencies, an in-house program will be more successful in providing the integrated, interdisciplinary experience that is the basis for the program. “That’s how it works in family law practice many times. You rely on the resources of social workers for help with a whole host of issues.” Jacobs is excited about the model at work in the Chance at Childhood Child Advocacy Clinic: “What’s unique about our clinic is the pairing of law students and social work students.” She adds, “Not only is the field of family law dynamic, but we have some pretty dynamic things under way here at MSU-DCL.” Chance at Childhood Director Practices What He Teaches At the core of the Chance at Childhood Program is the belief that the integration of law and social work will result in better advocacy for children and their families. Director Joe Kozakiewicz’s commitment to that approach dates back to his work at the Children’s Law Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “When I began working at the Law Center, it became apparent to me that the practice of children’s law was closely intertwined with the field of social work,” says Kozakiewicz. “I chose to seek my MSW [Master of Social Work] to be able to practice more effectively. It improved my ability to counsel clients and improved the quality of recommendations I have made to the court on behalf of children.” In addition to his other duties, Kozakiewicz teaches the Integrative Law and Social Work seminar course that is offered through Chance at Childhood. Kozakiewicz earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Columbia University in 1985 and 1988, respectively. He earned a master’s degree in social work from Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids, Michigan) in 2002. A native of New York State, he moved to San Diego, California, after law school, where he practiced business and securities law for three years and taught at the University of San Diego School of Law before relocating to West Michigan. After moving to Michigan, Kozakiewicz worked for the Children’s Law Center, a nonprofit agency devoted to advocating for children in a variety of legal matters. He then began working for the Ottawa County Family Court as a court referee hearing juvenile delinquency as well as abuse and neglect cases. Just before accepting the Chance at Childhood position, he served as the director of the Ottawa County Friend of the Court, overseeing the agency responsible for enforcing all child support, custody, and parenting time orders in Ottawa County. Recalling his early steps in the journey from business and securities law to the Chance at Childhood Program, he says, “I went into law as a helping profession. This was not the case in the practice of securities law. Once I came to this realization, I began looking for other fields in which to practice law.” Kozakiewicz has clearly found a way to make a valuable and lasting contribution. As Chance at Childhood director, he is not only making a difference in the lives of children today, but he also is ensuring that tomorrow’s lawyers are uniquely qualified to help children and their families.