The Gender Paradigm in Family Court

Live Zoom Webinar: June 29, 2021, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. (CDT) 

     California Program No. 160176

     Minnesota Event Code 360614

     Missouri Course ID No. 67463

Video replays: 

     California Program No. 160176

     July 14, 2021, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. (CDT) -

          Minnesota Event Code 390166

    July 29, 2021 - 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. (CDT) -

          Minnesota Event Code 390168

     August 9, 2021 - 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. (CDT) -

          Minnesota Event Code 390169

     September 10, 2021 - 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. (CDT) -

          Minnesota Event Code 390170

 On-Demand:  Register

Minnesota Event Code: 396278 

Cost:

Video replay: $25

On-Demand: $35

Historically, men and women were confined to rigidly defined social roles determined by sex. Women were expected to find a man to protect and provide for them, and then stay at home and raise children. Men were expected to protect and provide for women, through military service and employment outside the home. Personality traits were ascribed to match and reinforce this paradigm. Men came to be stereotyped as dominant, aggressive, non-nurturing. Women came to be stereotyped as passive, frail, and nurturing. 

The past fifty years have seen a wholesale rejection of this Gender Paradigm. Educational programs and a wide array of anti-discrimination laws ensure that women are no longer confined to traditional sex roles, and that they have at least as much opportunity for employment outside the home as men traditionally had. For the most part, they have been successful. Excluding farm labor and self-employment, women now outnumber men in the workforce. Women now serve alongside men in military combat positions. 

This course examines whether family courts have kept pace with these changes, and explores possible explanations for why they have not. The focus of this course is on the operation and reinforcement of gender bias in the areas of child custody and domestic violence. 

California; approved for 2.0 LSCLE Family Law Specialist credits and 2.0 MCLE credits, including 1 Diversity/Inclusion credit.  Subfield areas/hours: B/1.00, F6/1.00

Minnesota: approved for 2.0 Elimination of Bias CLE credits. 

Missouri: approved for 2.4 Ethics and 2.4 Elimination of Bias CLE credits.

Alaska, Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, and North Dakota attorneys may claim 2.0 Ethics CLE credits. The State Bar of Arizona does not accredit or approve CLE courses.

Arkansas attorneys may claim 2.0 Ethics credits, or may claim 1.0 Ethics and 1.0 Standard CLE credit.

Connecticut attorneys may claim 2.0 Standard or Ethics CLE credit.

Florida attorneys may claim 2.0 Legal Ethics or Bias Elimination CLE credits.

New Jersey attorneys may claim 2.4 Elimination of Bias CLE credits.

New York attorneys may claim 2.4 Diversity Inclusion & Elimination of Bias CLE or 2.4 Ethics credits. New York State Approved Jurisdiction policy applies; Minnesota is an approved jurisdiction. A financial aid policy exists for attorneys licensed in New York. Use the Contact form for more information or to apply. This course is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys. 

North Carolina attorneys may claim 2.0 Professionalism CLE credits.

Northern Mariana attorneys may claim 2.0 Standard CLE credits.

Application for CLE approval is pending in Vermont.

CLE credit may be available in other states. Check with your state's CLE governing body.

Dr. Hamel developed the evidence-based Alternative Behavior Choices batterer intervention curriculum and is currently a court-approved provider of batterer intervention and parent programs in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. He has been conducting research in the area of domestic violence for more than twenty years and spearheaded the large-scale literature review known as the Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the scholarly journal Partner Abuse and the founder and executive director of the Association of Domestic Violence Intervention Programs. Books he has authored or co-authored include Gender-Inclusive Treatment of Intimate Partner Abuse: Evidence-Based Approaches (2nd. ed., 2014); Intimate Partner and Family Abuse: A Casebook of Gender Inclusive Therapy (2008); Hamel and Nicholls, Family Interventions in Domestic Violence: A Handbook of Gender-Inclusive Theory and Treatment (2007), and Hamel and Russell, Beyond the Gender Paradigm: A Legal Primer on Evidence-Based Criminal Justice Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence (forthcoming from Oxford University Press in 2021).  In addition, he has had numerous articles and research reports published in scholarly journals. He conducts seminars and trainings that include Batterer Intervention Core Basic Training, What Family Law Professionals Should Know About Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Abuse and Gender, Evidence-based Treatment of Intimate Partner Abuse for Family Court Professionals, and others. He has served on the California Advisory Council Against Domestic Violence, and co-chaired multiple-day conferences on domestic violence research, policy, and intervention. Mr. Hamel is a regular speaker at conferences on domestic violence, has provided expert witness testimony in dozens of cases, and has trained attorneys, victim advocates, mental health professionals, social service organizations, law enforcement, and family court mediators. 

An attorney in private practice for over twenty years, Tom James has also been a mediator/arbitrator for the Dispute Settlement Board, a district court deputy, and a judicial clerk. He has presented on the subjects of child abuse, domestic violence, and mental health law in such forums as the Minnesota State Guardian ad Litem Annual Training Program, the First Annual Conference on the College Male, the Minnesota Fathers and Families Network Annual Summit, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). He is the author of several books, including The History of Custody Law and Domestic Violence: The 12 Things You Aren’t Supposed to Know. Law review and bar journal articles include “Assisted Reproduction: Reforming State Statutes After Obergefell v. Hodges and Pavan v. Smith,” in the Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class and "Domestic Violence Dissolutions" in Minnesota Bench & Bar. 

Mr. James has represented both men and women, both adult and child clients in family and juvenile court, and has always had a special interest in reducing bias and prejudice in society and the legal profession. He received a Certificate of Commendation from the Governor of Minnesota for his work to improve the judicial system and is a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for legal scholarship. Mr. James compiled the written materials, will be giving a brief talk, and is moderating the panel discussion. He is the organizer and host of the course.  

John Hamel, PhD, LCSW (See full description above)

Don Hubin, PhD

Dr. Hubin is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University and the Founding Director Emeritus of the Ohio State Center for Ethics and Human Values. He currently has two primary research interests: first, the nature of practical rationality and the relationship between morality and rationality; and second, the nature and basis of parental rights and responsibilities. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals. A partial list of his publications include “Parental Rights and Due Process,” in The Journal of Law and Family Studies, “Daddy Dilemmas: Untangling the Puzzles of Paternity,” in The Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, “Reproductive Interests: Puzzles at the Periphery of the Property Paradigm,” in Social Philosophy and Policy, “Fatherhood,” in the International Encyclopedia of Ethics; “Fractured Fatherhood,” in Journal of Family Theory & Review, “Procreators' Duties: Sexual Asymmetries,” in Oxford Handbook of Reproductive Ethics, “Converging on Values,” in Analysis; “The Groundless Normativity of Instrumental Rationality,” in The Journal of Philosophy; “Justice and Future Generations,” in Philosophy & Public Affairs. He is also Chair of the national board of the National Parents Organization, a shared parenting advocacy organization. He has taught courses on the recognition and elimination of gender bias. 

Joleena Louis, JD

Joleena Louis is a family law attorney in New York City, handling divorce, child custody, adoption, mediation, and other matters. She is also an author and a public speaker. She is the author of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Divorce. Her article, How the Family Court System Fails Black Fathers – and How You Can Help, was recently published in Family Lawyer Magazine. 

R.K. Hendrick, JD

Mr. Hendrick is an author and public speaker who practiced family for roughly twenty years. Over the course of his career, he handled over 3,000 divorce, child support and custody cases. Before then, he was a prosecutor and a pro-tem judge. He has established the largest and most active social media discussion group on men’s and boy’s issues, “Friends of Protection for Men.” Mr. Hendrick will participate in the panel discussion.

William Hoskovec, JD 

Partner at Cortez & Hoskovec. The firm has nearly 40 years of combined experience almost exclusively in the practice of Family Law. He focuses his practice on custody and parental rights, including advocating for the rights of fathers and grandparents, and also represents clients in domestic violence and guardianship proceedings. 

Mandy Morrill, M.A., Ed.D., LMHC, NCC

Associate professor of psychology at Valparaiso University in the graduate program for Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Her primary research interest involves the long-term consequences of abusive sibling relationships. She also conducts research on gender issues related to abuse and has published research on male victimization and female perpetration. She has presented her research at national conferences and has facilitated workshops for clinicians working with sibling abuse. In addition to her duties as assistant professor, she serves as the clinical training director for the graduate program at Valparaiso University. She has practiced in domestic violence shelters, served as a court advocate, and has counseled and advocated for both men and women recovering from abuse. 

Molly K. Olson

Mediator and founder/director of F.A.I.R. Solutions and the Center for Parental Responsibility, a children’s and shared parenting advocacy organization. She served on the legislatively mandated Minnesota Joint Custody Task Force, the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s Parenting Time Work Group, the Minnesota Family Law Work Group, the Minnesota Cooperative Private Divorce Project, and the Minnesota Child Custody Dialogue Group, a collaborative group comprising judges, attorneys, advocates, and experts charged with advising the Minnesota legislature on reforms to Minnesota family law, particularly in the area of child custody.  She is a co-founder and member of Leading Women for Shared Parenting. She has frequently testified before the legislature in connection with shared parenting bills and has published many editorials on the subject in newspapers. She has been organizing, advocating, and lobbying for equal shared parenting for twenty years. 

Jonathan Heisey-Grove

An at-home dad since 2011, of two boys ages 13 and 7, Jonathan became an active member with The National At-Home Dad Network (NAHDN) after attending his first convention in 2012. He recognized a need for design of materials for the convention and has volunteered his expertise designing for the NAHDN ever since. He has been a board member since 2018, becoming president in April of 2019. He is currently a Cub Scouts Den Leader and secretary of a Freemason’s Lodge. His past experience includes: president of a homeowner’s association, Cub Master of a Cub Scout Pack, and VP of Fundraising for a local school PTA. 

Ronald Lucas

Sole custodial father of two daughters he has been raising on his own for several years.