About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

41 Fam. L.Q. 393 (2007-2008)
When Did Lawyers for Children Stop Reading Goldstein, Freud and Solnit - Lessons from the Twentieth Century on Best Interests and the Role of the Child Advocate

handle is hein.journals/famlq41 and id is 405 raw text is: When Did Lawyers for Children Stop Reading Goldstein, Freud and Solnit? Lessons from the Twentieth Century on Best Interests and the Role of the Child Advocate JANE SPINAK* Lawyers for children are faced with a difficult dilemma each time they meet a new client. Unlike lawyers for adults, who begin most initial meet- ings with their clients figuring out the kind of legal problem that the client presents, lawyers for children begin with trying to determine what profes- sional relationship the lawyer and client will have. The answer-which may even vary over the course of the representation-requires the lawyer to consider a multitude of factors, including how many of these factors are for the lawyer to determine on her own and how many are for the client to determine. The factors can be organized into four categories: the type of legal situation the client faces, the state law governing representation for children, the professional codes and standards in effect, and the nature of the client. Diffused through these categories is the complexity of societal values about family life, individual and familial liberty and autonomy, and governmental power and responsibility. Overlaying this complexity is a concept that has now gained international status: the best interest of the child (BLOC). A recent symposium, The Child and the Nation-State: France, Sweden, and the US, 1900-2000, asked participants to consider * Edward Ross Aranow Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School. My thanks to Lisa Tiersten and Lars Tragardh for inviting me to participate in the symposium discussed in this article and for providing me with insightful comments on an earlier draft, and to Courtney Howard for excellent research assistance.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most