USING EXTERNSHIPS TO INTRODUCE FAMILY LAW STUDENTS TO NEW PROFESSIONAL ROLES

• Date: 01 January 2005
• Author: Nancy Ver Steegh
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2005.00013.x
• Published date: 01 January 2005

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 43 No. 1, January 2005 137–148

© 2005 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.Oxford, UKFCREFamily Court Review1531-2445© Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, 2004431Original Article

Ver Steegh et al. / USING EXTERNSHIPS TO INTRODUCE FAMILY LAW STUDENTSFAMILY COURT REVIEW

USING EXTERNSHIPS TO INTRODUCE FAMILY LAW

STUDENTS TO NEW PROFESSIONAL ROLES

Nancy Ver Steegh*

Law schools are seeking ways to familiarize family law students with exciting new professional roles arising in

connection with family court reform. This article describes the family law externship program at William Mitchell

College of Law which includes a classroom component allowing students placed in different practice settings to

compare and contrast their experiences. The program assists students in making career choices and enhances

their ability to counsel future clients.

Keywords:

externship

;

interdisciplinary

;

professional responsibility

;

reflective practice

;

family court reform

;

family

law students

;

legal education

;

mediator

;

arbitrator

;

collaborative lawyer

;

Best Interests Attorney

;

child’s attorney

;

parent educator

;

parent coordinator

;

special master

;

unbundled legal services

;

William Mitchell College of Law

INTRODUCTION

This is a particularly exciting time to be a family law student. Today’s students can

choose from an array of professional opportunities ranging from traditional practice to

mediation, collaborative law, and special mastering. Truly, there is no longer a “one-size-

fits-all” approach to family law.

As a part of their legal education, family law students should have the opportunity to

explore both traditional and newly created professional roles. Unlike in-house clinics,

which may focus on a single model of practice, family law externships

1

allow students to

work with family law professionals engaged in a wide variety of roles.

The family law externship program described in this article is supplemented with a

classroom (and a virtual classroom) component where students placed in different practice

settings compare and contrast professional roles. This process of reflection and analysis

prepares students to counsel future clients and helps them assess which professional roles

are most consistent with their personal values and aspirations.

FAMILY COURT REFORM LEADS TO THE CREATION OF NEW

PROFESSIONAL ROLES

ADVERSARIAL DIVORCE BECOMES LESS COMMON

The operation of the family courts has changed dramatically over the last thirty years.

2

For a variety of reasons adversarial divorce has been augmented, and in some cases,

supplanted by more cooperative processes.

First, empirical evidence provided new insights into the best interests of children whose

parents were divorcing. Research linked lower levels of parental conflict with higher levels

of postdivorce adjustment for children.

3

Researchers also recognized the importance of