Family Law: Theoretical Scientific and Comparative Perspectives (Aspen Casebook Series)

Features:

• Novel organization
  • three substantive units
  • compares legal treatment of parent-child relationship vs. adult intimate relationships
  • considers stages of formation, regulation, and dissolution
• Reflects modern reorientation of the field
  • in keeping with transition "From Partners to Parents"
  • starts with creation of parent-child relationship rather than marriage
• Geographical breadth
  • much more comparative material than current texts
  • examples from other cultures lead to "why don't we do this?" considerations
• Student-friendly organization
  • each chapter and section begins with clear summary of current law
  • orients students before examining legal texts
  • invites theoretical critique after foundation is laid
• Statutes at the core
  • proper emphasis on the vital skill of statutory interpretation
• Up-to-date
  • more recent cases than any other textbook
• Empirical emphasis
  • draws from sociology, psychology, anthropology, and other fields
  • grounds legal analysis in real world application
• Focused questions
  • direct students to the heart of the analysis
  • use headings to alert students as to the type of analysis required (e.g., statutory interpretation, policy, client counseling, moral theory)