E-mail:
Jack Balkin: jackbalkin at yahoo.com
Bruce Ackerman bruce.ackerman at yale.edu
Ian Ayres ian.ayres at yale.edu
Corey Brettschneider corey_brettschneider at brown.edu
Mary Dudziak mary.l.dudziak at emory.edu
Joey Fishkin joey.fishkin at gmail.com
Heather Gerken heather.gerken at yale.edu
Abbe Gluck abbe.gluck at yale.edu
Mark Graber mgraber at law.umaryland.edu
Stephen Griffin sgriffin at tulane.edu
Jonathan Hafetz jonathan.hafetz at shu.edu
Jeremy Kessler jkessler at law.columbia.edu
Andrew Koppelman akoppelman at law.northwestern.edu
Marty Lederman msl46 at law.georgetown.edu
Sanford Levinson slevinson at law.utexas.edu
David Luban david.luban at gmail.com
Gerard Magliocca gmaglioc at iupui.edu
Jason Mazzone mazzonej at illinois.edu
Linda McClain lmcclain at bu.edu
John Mikhail mikhail at law.georgetown.edu
Frank Pasquale pasquale.frank at gmail.com
Nate Persily npersily at gmail.com
Michael Stokes Paulsen michaelstokespaulsen at gmail.com
Deborah Pearlstein dpearlst at yu.edu
Rick Pildes rick.pildes at nyu.edu
David Pozen dpozen at law.columbia.edu
Richard Primus raprimus at umich.edu
K. Sabeel Rahmansabeel.rahman at brooklaw.edu
Alice Ristroph alice.ristroph at shu.edu
Neil Siegel siegel at law.duke.edu
David Super david.super at law.georgetown.edu
Brian Tamanaha btamanaha at wulaw.wustl.edu
Nelson Tebbe nelson.tebbe at brooklaw.edu
Mark Tushnet mtushnet at law.harvard.edu
Adam Winkler winkler at ucla.edu
It is my pleasure to introduce a symposium this week on
Professor Clare Huntington’s recent book, Failure to Flourish: How Law
Undermines Family Relationships (Oxford University Press, 2014). A staple in
political rhetoric, particularly in presidential election cycles, is the
premise that there is an important relationship between strong families and a
strong nation. As 2016 draws closer, we can also expect to hear rhetoric about the need to close the gap between talking about “family values”
and adopting policies that value families. Even now, the future of marriage is a
matter of intense discussion: even as marriage becomes available, in a growing
number of states, to same-sex couples formerly excluded from it, policy
analysts worry about the implications of the growing class-based marriage divide
for child well-being and family stability. Thus, it is a propitious time to
consider a new book that argues that “strong,
stable, and positive” relationships matter for child well-being, for adults, and
for society, and insists that a "flourishing" family law and policy can do much more to support
those relationships. This week’s book symposium will feature several
commentaries on Failure to Flourish, as well as responses
by Professor Huntington.
Linda C. McClain is a Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law and may be reached at lmcclainatbu.edu