The LGBT Family Law Institute was created to achieve two purposes:
1) To provide a network for experienced LGBT family lawyers; law professors who teach or write on LGBT family law concerns; and a limited number of experienced attorneys in allied LGBT practices.
2) To foster the development of LGBT family law expertise in rural and underrepresented areas and states that are hostile to LGBT rights.
In determining an applicant’s request for admission to FLI, the following criteria will be used:
- Years of admission to bar;
- Years of LGBT family law experience
- Indication of LGBT practice areas on website;
- Membership in National LGBT Bar and/or local LGBT bar association;
- Membership in minority or diversity sections or committees of local and state bar;
- Attendance at Lavender Law;
- Public speaking or authorship of articles or books on LGBT family law issues;
- Endorsement of Protecting Families document published by GLAD and NCLR http://www.glad.org/protecting-families/practitioner-pledge
- Teaching law school courses on LGBT family law;
- Work on legislation to benefit LGBT families;
- Practice in allied fields of practice, such as estate planning, tax, immigration, etc. that provide meaningful contribution to the goals of FLI;
- Meaningful contribution to the LGBT community, not just a provider of services for a fee to the community; and
- Geographic location of practice and willingness to commit to a practice focused on LGBT family law issues in a rural, underrepresented or hostile area.
Each applicant’s situation is unique based on geography and other factors. Requirements should be relaxed for those applicants who work in underrepresented and hostile areas.
These criteria will be the same for applications to attend FLI annual or regional meetings, as well as for listserve only members.
After admission, in order to maintain membership, a member is required to attend a FLI meeting (annual or regional) at least once every three years. If the member is a listserve only member, she/he will be subject to re-application after three years. Re-application may be based additionally on the member’s contributions to the list serve.
All members of FLI, whether regular or listserve only, are required to be members of the National LGBT Bar Association. International members are exempt from this requirement. No law students will be admitted.
