부산대학교 도서관

Family defense refers to the representation of parents involved in the child welfare and family court systems as a result of abuse or neglect allegations. The practice is uniquely positioned to incorporate the themes of rebellious lawyering, especially as advocates are turning to family defense work as a means of reforming the child welfare system and helping ensure better outcomes for children and families. This article examines the application of rebellious lawyering themes to an evolving family defense practice. First, the article explores interdisciplinary collaboration as a means of countering regnant practice in the traditional representation of parents, and elevating clients to be coequal partners in their family court case. As an example, extra-judicial out of court conferences led by the child welfare agency present the inherent challenges to incorporating interdisciplinary practice. Regnant practice is not limited to attorneys and can be replicated under the guise of interdisciplinary collaboration that persists in promoting the voices of legal and social work experts at the expense of the clients and families. Second, community education on the child welfare and family court systems offers another avenue for instilling rebellious lawyering's commitment in family defense practice. A twelve week program training community members and community college students to be parent advocates illustrates the potential for this partnership to expand the content and speakers in the ongoing discussion about how best to serve children and families in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]