FAMILY LAW

Brenda Feigen began her practice of family law in New York in 1974. Out of her experience as Director (with now Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) of the Women's Rights Project of the ACLU came one of her first matters in private practice: a case she brought on behalf of a father employed by the New York City Board of Education who wanted equal rights with mothers to take a parental leave of absence after his daughter was born. Ms. Feigen and her then husband went on to handle a variety of family law cases including some that required courts to take seriously requests by fathers that they be given joint custody of their children with the wives from whom they were separating. As Justice Ginsburg has been fond of saying, equality under the law is a double-edged sword: women cannot be expected to be treated equally if men are discriminated against because of their gender. Ms. Feigen also lectured and lobbied, eventually successfully, against New York's requiring that at least one party be "at fault" before a divorce could be granted.

Now, many years later, admitted to practice in California, as well as New York, Ms. Feigen drafts and negotiates both pre and post-nuptial agreements, enjoying the process because it allows her to use her skill negotiating contracts. She also represents both women and men in divorce and custody cases.

Her interest in same-sex marriage, as well as the evolving California law of Domestic Partnerships is evident in the enthusiasm with which she draws up the necessary documents to ensure the validity of the Partnership, as well as helping partners dissolve their partnerships should they so desire. Part of Ms. Feigen's practice is devoted to facilitating the sharing of child custody in same-sex cases invariably involving a biological parent and an adoptive parent -- where that is appropriate and in the best interests of the children.

Today, Ms. Feigen continues to work for equal rights for lesbians and gay men and, in particular, has fought for same-sex marriage whenever the occasion has arisen. She has contributed seven articles to the well-known website: www.WowOWow.com. Her most recent article (Click here to read) discussed California's infamous Proposition 8 that denies marriage rights to gay men and lesbians (now on appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, having been ruled unconstitutional by a lower federal judge). Another article (Click here to read) discussed DOMA (the, in her strong opinion, highly unconstitutional "Defense of Marriage Act", now on appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals). Because of DOMA, older gays and lesbians are denied the right to each other's Social Security, tax and other important benefits, and Ms. Feigen is on the front lines of the fight for couples to obtain those benefits. She is excited about practicing in these areas because they intersect with Constitutional Law about which she is highly knowledgeable and one of very few lawyers who keep current in this ever-changing, highly charged legal arena. (To also read Ms. Feigen's article on same-sex marriage in the Harvard Women's Law Journal, click here.)