Faculty Feature: Professor Courtney G. Joslin
Professor Courtney G. Joslin is one of the most highly cited family law scholars in the United States. An expert in family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus on same-sex and non-marital couples, Professor Joslin has won the prestigious Dukeminier Award for the best legal scholarship on sexual orientation and gender identity issues twice.
Professor Joslin regularly publishes in top law reviews. Her five books include two popular textbooks: Sexuality, Gender, and the Law, with William N. Eskridge Jr. & Nan D. Hunter, and Modern Family Law, with D. Kelly Weisberg. She has also published commentary in leading newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
She is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and her numerous awards include the 2024 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award from UC Davis and the UC Davis School of Law’s 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award. She served as the Reporter for the Uniform Parentage Act (2017). She teaches Constitutional Law; Employment Discrimination; Family Law; and Sexuality, Gender, and the Law.
What do you wish more people understood about family law?
Family law touches some of the most important issues in our lives—our relationships with our children, our relationships with our parents, our relationships with our intimate partners. For many people, the legal recognition of and protection for these relationships is rarely challenged and, as a result, is often taken for granted. But when that is not the case, the vital importance of recognition and protection of these relationships (and the harms that can result when that is lacking) is brought into stark relief.
If a person is not recognized as a parent to their child, for example, they may not have a right to seek custody of or visitation with that child. Indeed, they may be—and some of my clients when I was a practicing lawyer were—abruptly and permanently cut off from ever seeing their child. If the person is not recognized as a parent to the child, if something happens to the parent, the child might not be eligible for critically important benefits that are typically extended to children when a parent dies or becomes injured. Likewise, if a person is not recognized as a parent, they may not have an obligation to provide financial support for the child. The denial of these important benefits can leave the child extremely vulnerable during a time in which the family is already experiencing a crisis. There are also the intangible harms and the indignity that is experienced when the law fails to recognize and protect one’s family.
What originally drew you to the law?
I knew I was interested in pursuing a career in public interest and public service. After college, I spent a year working at a state anti-discrimination agency as an investigator. That experience solidified my sense that having a law degree would help me be a better and more effective advocate.
Why did you become a professor?
I feel fortunate that after law school and clerkships, I landed in a job that I really loved and felt passionate about. Over time, however, I realized that I wanted more time and space to think about the legal and policy questions I was grappling with in my litigation practice. Also, while I was still practicing, I had the opportunity to do some adjunct teaching at UC Berkeley Law and at Santa Clara School of Law. Through these experiences, I realized that I also really enjoyed teaching and working with students. For all of these reasons, I made the decision to move to academia.
Now that I am here, I teach and I engage in legal research and writing. I also continue to be involved with legal practice on the ground. I regularly author and co-author amicus briefs in family law cases in state and federal courts around the country. Typically, these briefs are filed on behalf of Family Law professors. I also participate in a range of law reform efforts. For example, I served as the Reporter—that is the primary drafter—for the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017 (UPA (2017)). The UPA is a uniform or model statutory scheme for determining a child’s legal parentage. The model is now available to the states for enactment. So far, eight states have enacted the UPA (2017), and a number of additional states have enacted portions of the UPA.
What would your students be surprised to learn about you?
My students might be surprised to learn that I never took a Family Law class during law school. (That is one of my regrets about law school.) Even after graduating I had no specific intent to pursue a career in the area of family law. But after beginning a post-graduate legal fellowship at a public interest law firm, a lot of my work happened to involve questions of family law. Through this work and through my interactions with my clients, I came to appreciate the profound importance of those issues. I also saw how dynamic and interesting the area of law was and continues to be.
What do you most enjoy about teaching? What do you hope students gain from your courses?
Our students at King Hall are really wonderful. They are so engaged, so naturally curious, so thoughtful, and so caring. I love helping them to learn and think deeply about the material we are studying together. Just as importantly, I enjoy learning from them—which is something that happens every time I teach!
The most important goal I have for all of my classes is for my students to continue to hone their analytical skills. The content can always be learned. But developing your ability to think critically, logically, and creatively about the law is a skill that all law students (and indeed all people) will need regardless of where their career path takes them.
Do you have any hobbies?
I enjoy the outdoors. I like going to the ocean. I like going for hikes. I feel very fortunate to live in an area where I have access to such incredible natural beauty. (And, King Hall students, you should try to take advantage of these opportunities while you are here!)
Of what are you proudest?
I have a fifteen-year-old child. I think the thing that I am most proud of is that my spouse and I have managed to raise a teenager who is a kind, caring, and compassionate person, and who, even at age 15, is still willing and interested in doing things with us!
Do you have one piece of advice for King Hall law students?
As I noted above, even after graduating from law school, I did not imagine that I would be working in the area of family law. I see my own story and trajectory as a concrete illustration of how it important it is to remain flexible and open to new experiences and new paths. There are so many interesting opportunities out there. It’s hard to know whether you will feel passionate about a job or a career path until you try it.
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