Editor’s Note

Thank you and congratulations to our authors and to the FLQ Board of Editors for their wonderful and timely contributions to family law literature. The first issue, Preserving Families: Parent Representation, Immigration Reform, and LGBTQ+ Rights, includes articles by Professor Martin Guggenheim, Claudio J. Perez, and Kharis Lund. The second issue, Recent Developments in Family Law, features articles by Professors Clare Huntington and Elizabeth S. Scott, Professor Ann Laquer Estin, and Professor J. Thomas Oldham and Dr. Jane Venohr. These articles are discussed in more detail in separate introductions to each issue.

Congratulations also to all of the NYLS Student Editors for their outstanding contributions throughout the Fall 2020 semester; for their flexibility in working entirely online during the pandemic; and for their dedication to this publication and to the field of family law, even while facing extraordinary challenges. I would like to specifically recognize Student Editorial Board members Aliyah Polner, Shelby Arenson, Kelly Barrett, Erin Peake, Sabrina Smith, and Kathy Torres. In addition to providing leadership, training, and support for all Student Editors, these students created and implemented protocols for editing, researching, and writing for FLQ, providing a strong foundation for NYLS’s inaugural year and for the future.

Because this is the beginning of NYLS’s role in publishing FLQ, a number of additional thank yous are in order. First, thank you to ABA Family Law Section Chair Michael A. Mosberg, Chair-Elect Candace B. Peeples, Editor Emeritus Linda D. Elrod, and the FLQ Board of Editors for their amazing leadership, collaboration, and support. Thank you to Lisa V. Comforty, Managing Editor, ABA Publishing, for making this publication possible and for teaching me and the NYLS Student Editorial Board everything there is to know about producing FLQ. Thank you as well to ABA Designer Betsy Kulak and proofreader Betsy Blumenthal.

Additionally, thank you to NYLS Dean Anthony W. Crowell; Associate Dean William P. LaPiana; the NYLS faculty, administration, and staff; and Diane and Arthur Abbey. They have provided extraordinary support for FLQ, for the Diane Abbey Law Institute for Children and Families at NYLS, and for NYLS students interested in children’s and family law generally.

Furthermore, I would like to thank and congratulate Kendra Huard Fershee, who served as Editor in Chief for the FLQ issues from Summer 2016 through Winter 2020. Professor Fershee oversaw issues that addressed such significant topics as “Intimate Partner Violence and Restorative Justice”; “Becoming a Family Lawyer”; and the Uniform Parentage Act and the Uniform Nonparent Custody and Visitation Act, among others. Additionally, she has been a terrific guide and mentor for me personally, and she worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition from the West Virginia University College of Law to NYLS.

Finally, thank you to our readers for your interest in FLQ. The overwhelming circumstances of the pandemic may lead to long-term changes in family law practice, some of which will be explored in upcoming FLQ issues. We hope that you and your families are healthy and safe, and that you find these articles engaging and helpful for your work.

All my best,