Many of our students, faculty, and alumni share a passion for helping families through the challenges—and joys—inherent to family law. This passion is core to our Family Law concentration and a reason why New England Law | Boston is a nationally ranked school for family law.
Our Family Law concentration covers the wide spectrum of issues that fall under this diverse legal specialty, including children and the law, domestic violence, law and the elderly, and juvenile law. Students in the program also benefit from many hands-on learning opportunities, including our Family Law Clinic, where they handle real cases under the supervision and guidance of our faculty.
Family law students can also participate in pro bono projects, such as volunteering at local organizations like the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Transition House, and Community Legal Service and Counseling Center. And they can join our in-house Women’s and Children’s Advocacy Project, which focuses on issues like the protection of survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
What Do Family Law Attorneys Do?
Family law is a wide-reaching and interdisciplinary legal specialty, with attorneys handling everything from divorce and custody matters to same-sex marriage issues to the adoption process. Common tasks for family law attorneys include drafting custody agreements, prenuptial agreements, and wills. Some family lawyers engage in litigation but many do not.
Family law can be a challenging practice, as child abuse and neglect, elder abuse and neglect, domestic and sexual violence, and juvenile delinquency all fall under its purview. But many family law attorneys find helping their clients through these struggles deeply rewarding.
You will often find lawyers specializing in family law at nonprofit organizations, government offices, and small- to mid-sized law firms.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Becoming a Family Law Attorney
Experiential Learning Opportunities
Students in our Family Law concentration program have access to the following hands-on learning experiences, among others:
Family Law Courses
In addition to their foundational legal coursework, students pursuing a concentration in Family Law can choose among many exciting elective classes to meet their credit requirements. To complete a concentration in Family Law, students must earn 10 credits by completing courses from the following list.
- Accounting for Lawyers
- Children and the Law
- Divorce Law
- Domestic Violence
- Estate Planning
- Family Law
- Family Law Clinic
- Health Care Law
- Housing Discrimination Law
- Juvenile Law
- Law and the Elderly
- Law Practice Management
- Lawyering Process
- Mediation
- Mediation and Dispute Resolution Clinic
- Modern Real Estate Transactions
- Negotiation
- Personal Income Tax
- Public Interest Law Seminar and Clinic
- Sexual Violence and Law Reform
- Tax Clinic
- Wills, Estates and Trusts
- Wills, Estates and Trusts II
Family Law Advisor