First, in The Uniform Cohabitants’ Economic Remedies Act: Codifying and Strengthening Contract and Equity for Nonmarital Partners, Professors Barbara Atwood and Naomi Cahn discuss the Uniform Cohabitants’ Economic Remedies Act (UCERA), which was approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 2021. The authors note that while the number of cohabiting couples has increased substantially over the past several decades, there are significant variations and ambiguities in state approaches to economic remedies for unmarried partners ending a relationship. Their article describes how UCERA addresses these issues, and includes detailed analysis of key provisions of the uniform law. Furthermore, the article provides insights into the UCERA drafting process, based on the authors’ experiences as a ULC Commissioner and Chair of the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Family Law (Barbara Atwood) and the Reporter for the Economic Rights of Unmarried Cohabitants Act Drafting Committee (Naomi Cahn). The authors conclude with how states enacting UCERA would benefit members of the public, by “clarify[ing] available remedies at the end of a cohabiting relationship,” and providing “predictable and stable standards” for couples moving across state lines.
Second, in Coercive Control in High-Conflict Custody Litigation, Professor Gillian R. Chadwick and Stef Sloan, Ph.D., address the harms that can come from failing to recognize coercive control in the context of custody proceedings. Coercive control “can include emotional, psychological, sexual, physical, and economic abuse, as well as threats, intimidation, stalking, and the use of children to obtain dominance.” The authors discuss how abusers can exploit the custody litigation process to exercise control over the other parent and even obtain custody of the child. Victim parents who allege abuse may be perceived as “unfriendly” toward the other parent (contrary to shared parenting preferences), and/or may be improperly accused of alienating the child against the other parent. Drawing on social science research, the authors discuss the harms of coercive control for children; the importance of protecting relationships between the child and the non-abusive parent; and the impact of gender bias in custody proceedings. Based on this research as well as their practice experience, the authors offer specific recommendations with the goal of helping family law practitioners “to navigate these challenging cases and ultimately improve outcomes for children and families.”
This issue also features two award-winning essays from the Family Law Section’s 2022 Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest. The first-place essay, Influencing a New Generation: Guardians’ Duties To Protect the Interests and Safety of Children on Social Media by Amber Kolb, discusses potential harm to children from parents posting information about them online, in some cases for financial profit. The essay discusses privacy and child labor issues and recommends legislative reforms. The second-place essay, Judicial Perceptions of Parental Alienation and its Legal Remedies by Carissa Smith, analyzes responses by judges to a survey the author conducted in Colorado. The survey concerned the judges’ understanding of parental alienation, the frequency with which they have encountered potentially alienating behaviors, and the remedies they have implemented.
Additionally, I am pleased to welcome a new member of the Family Law Quarterly Board of Editors: Professor Maleaha Brown, who has extensive expertise as well as experience with the Family Law Section. Professor Brown is an Associate Professor at Southwestern Law School, where she teaches Family Law as well as Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills. Before joining Southwestern in 2021 she practiced family law and worked with survivors of domestic violence at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. She served as an ABA Family Law Section Fellow and Co-Chaired the Family Law Section Domestic Violence Committee, and was recognized in 2021 with the Family Law Section’s Allen Gary Palmer Excellence in Service and Commitment Award. She is also a member of the ABA’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, and a previous winner of the Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest.
This is the last issue edited by the New York Law School (NYLS) student editors from the 2022–23 academic year, with assistance from the 2023–24 student editorial board. Congratulations to all NYLS student editors for their work on this issue, and to ABA Managing Editor Susan Lorimor, Director of Digital Publishing Kyle Kolbe, and Copy Editor Betsy Blumenthal. Thank you also to the FLQ Board of Editors; the ABA Family Law Section Council and 2023–24 Chair Brian Karpf; Family Law Section Director Cindy Swan and Associate Director Danielle Pruger; NYLS Dean and President Anthony W. Crowell, Dean of Faculty William P. LaPiana, and Senior Associate Dean Matt Gewolb; the NYLS faculty, administration, and staff; and Diane and Arthur Abbey.
We hope you enjoy this issue and welcome your feedback. Best wishes to you and your families.