Professor Clare Huntington

Professor Clare Huntington, a Fordham Legislation and Regulation professor, focuses on poverty and family law. A graduate of Columbia University, Professor Huntington has previously been employed by the U.S Department of Justice and  has taught at a number of prolific universities, including Columbia University, University of Colorado Law School and now, Fordham University. Her published book, Failure to Flourish: How Law Undermines Family Relationships (Oxford 2014), has won an array of awards and honorable mentions such as the Award in Law and Legal Studies from the Association of American Publishers.  It has also been reviewed in the Harvard Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Texas Law Review, Tulsa Law Review, Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, and JOTWELL.  She is the recipient of an Honorable Mention for the Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE) Award in Law.

Professor Huntington’s book focuses specifically on the intersection of poverty and family function, with a recent specialization on non-marital families. She delves into the recurrent link between families and inequality as she argues that familial legislative regulation purposefully contradicts the needs of American families. The stability of relationships in a family is a necessity for both individual and societal development. However, regulations ranging from criminal law to legislation regarding transportation, divorce, and child welfare make it challenging for guardians to provide for their children, stunting progress and endorsing inequality. Professor Huntington’s publication is a call for action to restructure the legal system to aid families and individuals by addressing these contradictions. The publication analyzes historical and psychological research dating back to Ancient Greece, in addition to taking readers inside local family courts in present-day America.  It drafts possible solutions for a newly restructured legal system that promotes a flourishing and stable society through equality and healthy relationships.

She has acquired knowledge of the legal system from her experiences as Attorney Advisor at the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and clerk for Supreme Court Justices Harry A. Blackmun and Stephen Breyer.  She has also served as a clerk for Judge Denise Cote of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and Judge Merrick B. Garland of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  She currently serves as  an assistant reporter for the service of the American Law Institute’s Restatement of Law, Children and the Law.