Navigate the complex and rewarding field of family, child, and elder law.
Family relationships are complicated. When the time comes, a specially-skilled lawyer is needed to serve clients with these issues well. Oregon Law prepares you with the knowledge, expertise, and practical skills necessary to advocate for a broad range of clients, including children and the elderly.
Family, Child, and Elder Law Concentrations
Careers
Family, Child, and Elder Law lawyers work in private offices and governmental settings. They may file legal documents, participate in mediation sessions, and offer advice to clients. These issues can include paternity, guardianship, custody, rights in same-sex nonmarital relationships, parent-child relationship protection, facilitating parenthood through adoption and reproductive technology, custody, child support, escaping domestic violence, and divorce.
- Private Litigator
- Legal Aid
- Legislator
- Policy Advisor
- Nonprofit Administrator
- Mediator
- Criminal Defense Attorney
- Prosecutor
Academics
Sample of General Family, Child, and Elder Law Coursework
FIRST YEAR (1L) (Assigned courses)
SECOND YEAR (2L)
THIRD YEAR (3L)
ADDITIONAL COURSES
Sample of Family Law Focused Coursework
SECOND YEAR (2L)
THIRD YEAR (3L)
EITHER YEAR
Sample of Child Advocacy Focused Coursework
SECOND YEAR (2L)
THIRD YEAR (3L)
EITHER YEAR
Sample of Elder Law Focused Coursework
SECOND YEAR (2L)
THIRD YEAR (3L)
EITHER YEAR
Research Projects
- Oregon Child Advocacy Project (OCAP)
- Work with a Professor as a Research Assistant
- Independent Study
Practical Experience
Types of available practical experiences
- Domestic Violence Protective Order Clinic
- Domestic Violence Civil Clinic
- Advanced Domestic Violence Protective Order Clinic
- Advanced Domestic Violence Civil Clinic
- Child Law Field Placement
- Advanced Domestic Violence Clinic
- Domestic Violence Field Placement in Klamath Falls
- Child Advocacy Field Placement
- Student Survivor Legal Services (volunteer)
Extracurriculars
FIRST YEAR (1L)
SECOND YEAR (2L)
THIRD YEAR (3L)
Annual Events
- Oregon State Bar - Family Law Conference (competitive scholarships available)
Faculty Highlight — Merle Weiner
PHILIP H. KNIGHT PROFESSOR
Professor Weiner has written extensively in the areas of family law, domestic abuse law, and international family law. She is considered an expert on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She co-wrote the first US casebook on international and comparative family law, entitled Family Law in the World Community, which is now in its third edition.
Professor Weiner was the founder and faculty director of the UO's Domestic Violence Clinic. For twenty years, she ensured the clinic's existence by keeping the clinic funded with her grant writing and other fundraising efforts. She is currently working on a tort law project to help survivors of gender-based violence.