Faculty and Staff

Prof. Donald N. Duquette founded the Child Advocacy Law Clinic, the oldest such clinic in the United States, in 1976. His 1990 book, Advocating for the Child in Protection Proceedings, formed the conceptual framework for the first national evaluation of child representation as mandated by the U.S. Congress. His most recent book, Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect and Dependency Proceedings, Second Edition (Bradford Legal Publishers, 2010), defines the scope and duties of a new legal specialty in child-welfare law and prepares experienced lawyers for a national certifying examination. Prof. Duquette initiated and was codirector of a National Association of Counsel for Children project to develop a national certification program in child welfare law, which gained American Bar Association accreditation in February 2004 and is now available as a specialty in more than 33 U.S. jurisdictions. In October 2009, the U.S. Children's Bureau made a $6 million, multi-year grant to Michigan Law to serve as the National Quality Improvement Center for Child Representation in the Child Welfare System (QIC-ChildRep) with Prof. Duquette as director. The QIC-ChildRep developed a Best Practice Model of child representation and a training on the Six Core Skills essential to that model, and is now embarking on the first-ever random assignment experimental design research on child representation in the states of Georgia and Washington to test the effectiveness of the QIC approach. What it is that a child's legal representative does that makes a difference in a child's life? Prof. Duquette hails from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is a graduate of Michigan State University, and was a social worker specializing in child protection and foster care prior to earning his JD at Michigan in 1974. Before joining the faculty, he served as an assistant professor of pediatrics and human development at Michigan State University.

Prof. Duquette's recent publications and activities can be seen on his Law School faculty page.

Prof. Frank E. Vandervort, clinical professor of law, has spent his professional career immersed in child welfare issues. His interests include child protection, juvenile delinquency, and interdisciplinary practice. In 2009, he cofounded the Law School's Juvenile Justice Clinic. Prof. Vandervort has served as a legal consultant to the U-M School of Social Work's Family Assessment Clinic since 1997. In 2010, he was elected to the board of directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, and currently serves as a member of its executive committee and chair of its amicus committee. He has been involved in the Michigan Child Death Review State Advisory Committee since 1999. Prior to joining the faculty, he was program manager of the Michigan Child Welfare Law Resource Center. He also has been as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he taught courses in family law and juvenile justice. He earned his BA from Michigan State University and his JD from Wayne State University Law School.

Prof. Vandervort's recent publications and activities can be seen on his Law School faculty page.

Prof. Vivek Sankaran is a clinical professor of law in the Child Advocacy Law Clinic. His research and policy interests center on improving outcomes for children in child abuse and neglect cases by empowering parents and strengthening due process protections in the child welfare system. Prof. Sankaran sits on the steering committee of the ABA National Project to Improve Representation for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System and has litigated several cases on behalf of parents before the Michigan Supreme Court. He also has authored scholarly pieces and practical resource guides to assist professionals working with parents in the system and regularly conducts national and statewide training on these issues. He was also recently appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the Child Abuse Prevention Board.

Prof. Sankaran earned his BA, magna cum laude, from the College of William and Mary. He earned his JD, cum laude, from Michigan Law, where he was an associate editor of the Michigan Law Review. After law school, he joined The Children's Law Center (CLC) as a Skadden Fellow and became a permanent staff attorney with the CLC in September 2003. Prof. Sankaran was named the 2004 Michigan Law Public Interest Alumni of the Year and, in 2006, was certified as a child welfare specialist by the National Association of Counsel for Children. In 2011, he was named the Parent Attorney of the Year by the Michigan Foster Care Review Board.

Prof. Sankaran's recent publications and activities can be seen in his Law School faculty page.

Prof. Joshua B. Kay is a clinical assistant professor of law in the Child Advocacy Law Clinic and the Domestic Relations Mediation Clinic. His primary interests include examining how legal requirements are put into practice in child abuse and neglect cases, how the child protection system addresses the needs of parents and children with disabilities, and how mental health information is used and understood by child welfare agencies and judicial personnel. He has conducted numerous trainings for child welfare workers, judges, and attorneys representing parents and children.

Prof. Kay earned his BA with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College, where he received the R.H. Stetson Award in Psychology and Psychobiology. He then earned his MA and PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan, where he was a Regents' Fellow. Prior to earning his JD, cum laude, from Michigan Law, he served as an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he studied the effects of pediatric disability and was an attending psychologist and member of the ethics committee at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. He also taught courses in clinical assessment and supervised the clinical work of graduate students in the Department of Psychology. During law school, Prof. Kay received the International Achievement Summit Award and the Craig Spangenberg Oral Advocacy Award. After law school, he joined Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service as a Skadden Fellow, receiving a certificate of appreciation for his representation of parents with disabilities in child welfare matters from the University of Michigan Council for Disability Concerns.

Prof. Kay's recent publications and activities can be seen in his Law School faculty page.

Katherine Rosenblum, PhD, is a clinical and developmental psychologist and holds appointments as an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan's Center for Human Growth and Development and as an adjunct clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry. She also maintains a small private practice. Her research and clinical work focus on trauma and relationship disruptions in early childhood, interventions to support parent-child relationships, and the special needs of young children in the context of military families, adoption, and foster care. Dr. Rosenblum consults with students in the Child Advocacy Law Clinic on their cases and teaches classes on issues related to child development, trauma, and self care.

Dr. Rosenblum's full biography and recent publications can be seen on the Center for Human Growth & Development webpage.

Alicia Lixey brought 20 years of legal experience with her when she joined the Child Advocacy Law Clinic as a legal assistant in 1995. In 2000, Lixey became the clinic administrator. She uses the wealth of experience and information she has accumulated over the years to help CALC students navigate their cases, and keeps the CALC office, which is really a small law firm, running efficiently.

Her prior experience with courts and attorneys preparing legal documents, working with court calendars, overseeing court filings, interacting with clients, and all the details involved in running a law office are well used here at the Law School.

Lixey said the most rewarding part of her job is working with students. "We have such a diverse group every term," she said. "I enjoy getting to know each and every student in the clinic—learning their different backgrounds, what they did before law school, and about their dreams." She helps students with their clinic class materials, getting to the courts in the various counties, preparing mock trial and hearing simulations, and tries to make sure that they don't get too stressed while handling their Law School classes along with their clinic cases. "One of the things we all enjoy is having periodic clinic luncheons throughout the semester. These help all of us get acquainted and become a more cohesive group."

Jackie Julien joined the Child Advocacy Law and Juvenile Justice clinics in January 2012 as a legal assistant. Julien is the first point of contact for clients, students, courts, and child welfare agencies. She works with student attorneys on case management and preparing and filing legal documents and correspondence. She joined the Law School in 2005 as a faculty assistant to several doctrinal and adjunct professors. Prior to joining the clinics, she helped guide students interested in legal careers in the public interest and government sectors and performed the administrative work for the Office of Public Service (now called the Office of Career Planning). Julien earned her BS from Eastern Michigan University in 2007.