Amy Halbrook is a Professor of Law and the Director of the NKU Chase Children's Law Center Clinic, a partnership between Chase College of Law and the Children's Law Center in Covington, Kentucky. She has represented clients in a wide range of court proceedings, including child protection, high-conflict custody, juvenile justice, school discipline, and special education matters.
Professor Halbrook teaches the Children’s Law Center Clinic course, Family Law, Juvenile Law, Children and the Law, Mediation (Family-Focused) and Client-Centered Practice. She is the faculty sponsor of the Chase Child and Family Law Certificate of Concentration. Professor Halbrook’s scholarly interests include juvenile justice reform, children’s rights, restorative justice and professional responsibility. She has served as a trial skills trainer for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the American Bar Association and the Gault Center (formerly the National Juvenile Defender Center). She is also a trained mediator who serves as faculty in the NKU Alternative Dispute Center's mediator training programs.
Professor Halbrook attended the University of California at Berkeley and Northwestern University School of Law. Before joining the Chase faculty, she worked as a commercial litigator in Chicago and completed clinical fellowships in Loyola University Chicago’s Civitas ChildLaw Clinic and Northwestern University School of Law's Children and Family Justice Center. She is the current Board Chair of Community and Restorative Justice-Covington, an organization that helps build communities and facilitates peace-making circles in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area.
Brief of the Children’s Law Center and the Kentucky Student Voice Team as Amici Curiae in Bradley v. Jefferson Co. Public Schools, et al., Case No. 22-6091, Sixth Circuit (2023)
Brief of the Children’s Law Center and the Kentucky Student Voice Team as Amici Curiae in Holland v. Kenton County, KY Public Schools, et al., Case No. 22-6091, Sixth Circuit (2023)
Brief of National Association for Public Defense and Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amici Curiae in Pike v. Gross, Case No. 19-1054, United States Supreme Court (2020)
Brief of National Association for Public Defense and Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amici Curiae in Com. v. Bredhold, Case No. 2017-SC-000436 (KY 2018)
Custody: Kids, Counsel and the Constitution, 2 Duke J. Const. L. & Pub. Pol'y 179 (2017)
Kentucky’s Guardian Ad Litem Litigation: A Model for Seeking Role Clarity, 37 Children’s Legal Rights J. 81 (2017)
Brief of Law Professors as Amici Curiae in Morgan v. Getter, 441 S.W.3d 94 (KY 2014)
Juvenile Pariahs, 65 Hastings L.J. 1 (2013)
Kentucky Supreme Court Examines the Role of the Guardian ad Litem in Child Custody Matters, Kentucky Bar Association Bench & Bar Magazine (December 2013) (with J. Crabtree)
Northern Kentucky’s Initiative to Improve Outcomes for Juvenile Status Offenders, Kentucky Bar Association Bench & Bar Magazine (September 2012) (with J. Crabtree)
Advocating for Children in Care in a Climate of Economic Recession: Responsibilities and Challenges, 6 NW. J. L. & SOC. POL’Y 300, (2011) (with B. Boyer)
Advocacy for Early Termination of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Requirements: A Working Model, distributed by the Children and Family Justice Center of the Bluhm Legal Clinic of the Northwestern University School of Law (2011)
NKU Mediation Training, Remote
Trainer, Theory and Techniques for the Advocate and Mediator (Family Law Focus), October 2023
Avalon Village, Highland Park, MI
Presenter, Street Law, August 2023
Tight Budgets and Tough Choices: Poverty, Decisions & Why Legal Aid Matters, Remote
Trainer for Acadiana Legal Services Corp., Louisiana, August 2023
Free Litigation Training for Attorneys Who Represent Domestic Violence Survivors is Available Through the ABA
Quoted, July 2023
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Trial Skills Institute, Remote
Lead Faculty, August 2023
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Advanced Trial Skills Institute, Remote
Lead Faculty, June 2023
American Association of Law Schools, Clinical Conference, San Francisco, CA
Working Group Facilitator, April 2023
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Trial Skills Institute, Remote
Lead Faculty, August 2022
Hamilton County Public Defender Training, Cincinnati, OH
Presenter, Social Work/Mitigation Specialist Courtroom Speaking, June 2022
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Advanced Trial Skills Institute, Remote
Faculty, June 2022
NKU Alternative Dispute Resolution Center Mediation Training, Remote
Faculty, May 2022
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Mini Trial Skills Course: Impeachment in Domestic Violence Cases, Remote
Faculty, May 2022
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Advanced Trial Skills Institute, Remote
Faculty, December 2021
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conference, Cincinnati, OH
Presenter, Feeling Caught and Family Communications Patterns: Theory and Skills Training, November 2021 (with Andrea Lambert South)
NKU Alternative Dispute Resolution Center 40-Hour Mediation Training, Remote
Faculty, March 2021
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Trial Skills Institute, Remote
Faculty, December 2020
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass Summer Family Law Symposium, Covington, KY
Presenter, Kentucky GAL Practice, July 2020
Northern Kentucky University/Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services Mediation Training, Highland Heights, KY
Co-Presenter with James Kruer, Family Law Mediation, November 2019
Access to Justice Foundation and Children’s Law Center Education Training, Lexington, KY
Presenter, Ethical Representation in Education Matters: Who is the Client? July 2019
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence West Coast Trial Skills Institute, Irvine, CA
Visiting Faculty, May 2019
American Bar Association/National Legal Aid & Defender Association Equal Justice Conference, Louisville, KY
Panelist, Children’s Law Center, Inc.: Using Partnerships and Collaborations to Provide Access to Justice to Children and Youth, May 2019
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence East Coast Trial Skills Institute, Washington, DC
Visiting Faculty, March 2019
Hamilton County Public Defender Training, Cincinnati, OH
Trainer, Call in the Experts, October 2018
Chase College of Law Symposium, Highland Heights, KY
Panelist, In re Gault: 50 Years and Beyond, December 2017
Hamilton County Public Defender Training, Cincinnati, OH
Trainer, When Your Youth Client is Not Competent: Maintaining the Attorney-Client
Relationship, October 2017
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Trial Skills Training, Chicago, IL
Visiting Faculty, June 2017
University of Kentucky Family Law Institute, Lexington, KY
Presenter, Will We Ever See the Calm After the Storm? – Child Advocates & Court Advisors Post-Getter, May 2016
Nebraska Bar Association Defender Conference, Omaha, NE
Trainer, Competence in a Dusky World, September 2015
Northern Kentucky Bar Association Family Law CLE, Covington, KY
Panelist, Role of the GAL Post-Getter, September 2015
Franklin County Ohio Juvenile Defender Training, Columbus, OH
Trainer, Motions: Litigating is a Win, March 2015
Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky Guardian Ad Litem Training, Highland Heights, KY
Presenter, Interviewing Child Clients and Putting It All Together: GAL Practice Step-By-Step, January 2015
Washburn University School of Law, Building Blocks of Juvenile Defense Advocacy Program, Topeka, KS
Trainer, Adolescent Development, December 2014
Indiana Juvenile Defender Conference, Indianapolis, IN
Presenter, When Your Juvenile Client is Not Competent: Maintaining the Attorney-Client
Relationship and Ethical Obligations, September 2014
National Association of Counsel for Children’s 37th National Child Welfare, Juvenile and Family Law Conference, Denver, CO
Presenter, Truants, Runaways and Other Status Offenders: Case and System Advocacy, August 2014
University of Kentucky Family Law Institute, Lexington, KY
Presenter, Role of the GAL in Kentucky, May 2014
National Juvenile Defender Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) Train-the-Trainers Program, Dayton, OH
Trainer of Trainers, May 2014
Ohio Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit, Columbus, OH
Trainer, Juvenile Disposition and Interactions with Probation Officers, Police, Judges and Parents, April 2014
Missouri Juvenile Public Defender Training, St. Louis, MO
Trainer, Interviewing Youth Clients, February 2014
Ohio Juvenile Defender Training, Lucas County, OH
Trainer, Juvenile Disposition, October 2013
Indiana Juvenile Defender Conference, Indianapolis, IN
Trainer, Probation Revocation, October 2013
National Juvenile Defender Conference, Phoenix, AZ
Moderator, Plenary on Juvenile Status Offenders, October 2013
Chase Law Review Symposium, Highland Heights, KY
Introduction and Welcome, Juvenile Justice: Low, Policy and Opportunities for Reform, October 2013
National Juvenile Defender Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) Train-the-Trainers Program, Chicago, IL
Certified JTIP Trainer, July 2013
Illinois Court Improvement Project and National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Springfield, IL
Visiting Faculty, Child Protection Trial Skills Training, July 2013
Ohio Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit, Columbus, OH
Moderator, One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Every Child’s Right to a Tailored Defense, April 2013
Indiana Public Defender Conference, Indianapolis, IN
Visiting Faculty, Preparing for Trial: Theory and Investigation, October 2012
Hofstra University School of Law and National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Hempstead, NY
Visiting Faculty, Training the Lawyer to Represent the Whole Family, June 2012
2012 Ohio Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit, Dayton, OH
Presenter, Telling Our Clients’ Stories and Digital Stories, Youth Stories, March 2012
Southern Clinical Teachers’ Conference, Knoxville, TN
Presenter, Juvenile Pariahs: Assisting Kids on Sex Offender Registries, March 2012
WNKU (National Public Radio) Interview, Highland Heights, KY
NKU Partners in New Children’s Law Clinic in Covington, January 2012
Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Regional Meeting, Highland Heights, KY
Welcome and Introduction to the NKU Chase Children’s Law Center Clinic, January 2012
Indiana Juvenile Public Defender Conference, Indianapolis, IN
Presenter, Ethics for the Juvenile Defender: Case Studies (with A. Smith), October 2011
Ohio Juvenile Public Defender Conference, Dayton, OH
Visiting Faculty, May 2011
Illinois State Bar Association Mid-Year Meeting, Chicago, IL
Presenter, Juvenile Sex Offender Registry Termination in Illinois, January 2011
Practicing Law Institute, Chicago, IL
Panelist, New Lawyers’ Toolbox – Work-Life Balance, Fall 2008, 2009 and Spring 2011
John Marshall School of Law, Chicago, IL
Guest Lecturer, Child Custody Where There is Domestic Violence in the Family, September 2010
Loyola University Chicago School of Education, Chicago, IL
Presenter, Special Education Law: Practical Tips for Teachers, June 2010
Loyola University Chicago Children’s Summer Institute, Chicago, IL
Instructor, Introduction to Child Protection Matters (with M. Burns), May 2010
Hofstra University School of Law and National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Hempstead, NY
Visiting Faculty, Training the Lawyer to Represent the Whole Child, June 2009 and 2010
Legal Writing Institute Applied Storytelling in Law Conference, Portland, OR
Project Facilitator and Presenter, Digital Storytelling in Child Advocacy, July 2009
Northwestern University School of Law, School Discipline Clinic Group
Presenter, Least Restrictive Environment and Other Special Education Matters, Spring 2008
African American Parents for Purposeful Education
Advisor and Presenter, Special Education Matters, 2007–2008
Salmon P. Chase College of Law
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