Reframing family law: Using narratively‐informed lawyering to build an inclusive curriculum

• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Author: Victoria Chase,Ann E. Freedman
• Date: 01 October 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12669

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Reframing family law: Using narratively-informed

lawyering to build an inclusive curriculum

Victoria Chase|Ann E. Freedman

Rutgers Law School, Camden, New

Jersey, USA

Correspondence

Victoria Chase, Rutgers Law School, Camden,

NJ, USA.

Email: vlchase@camden.rutgers.edu

Abstract

This article describes a multi-layered family law clinic pro-

viding advice, counsel, and drafting assistance to returning

citizens with child support and related issues. As here, giv-

ing appropriate weight in the family law curriculum to the

experiences of families marginalized by caste, race, and

other exclusionary dynamics requires moving beyond

casebook-dependent teaching and working across disci-

plines and teaching skill sets otherwise confined to siloed

groupings within legal education. The article explains how

innovative pedagogy, including sustained attention to narra-

tive and relationship positions students to deeply under-

stand and challenge the many unjust aspects of the child

support system, as well as to gain confidence in their law-

yering skills. Techniques discussed include a process drama

using an actor-teacher in the role of client; social location

work; work drafting pleadings for returning citizen clients;

and the use of strength-based resilience dialogues. Adding

to the growing chorus of challenges to the blame-laden

notions that expose Black and Brown families, especially

those who are poor, to harsh sanctions, the article illustrates

how increased attention to work with narratives and rela-

tionships can energize needed change in legal education as

well as in the family law and criminal legal systems.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12669

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which

permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no

modifications or adaptations are made.

© 2022 The Authors. Family Court Review published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association of Family and Conciliation

Courts.

Family Court Rev. 2022;60:669–690. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 669

KEYWORDS

child support, family justice system reform, minority and low

income unmarried families

Key points for the family court community

•Expanding the family law curriculum to give at least

equal weight to the experiences of families marginalized

by race, class, and other exclusionary dynamics requires

moving beyond casebook-dependent teaching.

•Courses such as the one described in this article which

meld doctrinal, legal writing, and clinical modalities can

provide students with the opportunity to learn about and

challenge dominant oppressive narratives and systems at

the intersection of family law and criminal law.

•Seemingly race-neutral narratives about blame-worthy

conduct are central to obscuring the wide variation in the

circumstances and lives constructed by families of color,

the ingenuity and resilience of family members, and the

criminalizingwebs in which they are so often ensnared.

•A multi-faceted engagement with narrative permits students

to better understand client experiences, craft more effective

pleadings, reinforce their evolving narratives of their own

competence, and enhance their relational capacities.

•Courses that challenge and illustrate the practical impli-

cations of inaccurate and stigmatizing narratives are inte-

gral to moving beyond indoctrinating legal methods

toward critical reflection, and building motivation within

the legal profession and the larger society for needed

change in the law and legal systems.

INTRODUCTION

This articleshares some of what the authorshave learned from a five-year journey in creating and teachingInterviewing

and Counseling: Prisoner Reentry and ChildSupport, a multi-layered family law clinic. Thisclinic, as will be described fur-

ther in this Article, melds intensive units of doctrinal, simulation,legal writing, and clinicalpedagogy to provide students

with a unique vantagepoint from which to view some of familylaw's class, racial, gender,and carceral implications.

The idea for the reentry and child support clinic arose during a conversation in February 2017 about developing

new course offerings for students interested in family law careers.

1

As we reviewed the family law curriculum, we

1

Additional courses would help Juris Doctor students qualify for a Rutgers Family Law Certificate, a micro-credential indicating a concentration in a

particular area of law study. See https://law.rutgers.edu/certificate-programs. Certificates are also available in Criminal Law, Immigration Law and

Corporate Law.

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