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Jill E. Family

Associate Dean for Faculty Research & Development 
Professor of Law
Faculty Advisor
, Law and Government Institute


PUBLICATIONS
SSRN Papers
Curriculum Vitae

Phone: 717.541.3911

“As faculty advisor of the Law and Government Institute, I have many opportunities to connect students with alumni who share an interest in government law. It is wonderful to help a student develop an interest in a rewarding field, and the dedication of our alumni makes me so proud.” 

Jill E. Family's scholarship leads the discussion of the intersections of immigration law and administrative law. She brings her expertise into the classroom in courses on administrative law, immigration law, and civil procedure.

Professor Family studies the relationships between the three branches of government in setting, implementing, and interpreting immigration law. Her expertise played a prominent role in a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts. Her work has been published in British and Spanish law journals, in addition to many leading U.S. law reviews.

Professor Family lends her expertise to policy discussions about the future of administrative law and immigration law. She served as Chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and contributes to the Notice and Comment Blog of the Yale Journal on Regulation. In addition, Professor Family is a member of the Academic Consultative Group of the Administrative Conference of the United States. 

As the faculty advisor of the Law and Government Institute at Widener Law Commonwealth, Professor Family works with students, government officials, legislators, judges, attorneys, and the public to explore legislation, the intersection of law and policy, and the work of administrative agencies.

During the spring of 2020, Professor Family was a visiting professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. In 2012, she was a visiting scholar at Queen Mary School of Law in London. She received the 2011 and 2022 Douglas E. Ray Excellence in Faculty Scholarship Award, and the National Administrative Law Judiciary Foundation selected Professor Family as its 2010 Fellow.  She is also the recipient of the Light of Liberty Award from the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center.  Three of her articles have been selected for reprinting in an anthology of immigration law scholarship. 

  • Administrative Law
  • Civil Procedure
  • Immigration Law
  • Introduction to Immigration Law Practice

Education

BA, University of Pennsylvania, cum laude
MS, Rutgers University
JD, Rutgers University School of Law - Camden, with high honors

Experience

Law Clerk, Judge Morton I. Greenberg, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Attorney, Dechert LLP, Philadelphia Pa
Law Clerk, Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky, United States District Court for the  District of New Jersey
Adjunct Professor, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Bar Admissions

New Jersey
Pennsylvania

  1. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  2. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  3. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Memberships

American Bar Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Dauphin County Bar Association
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Board Member, Pennsylvania Women’s Forum

Selected Media Coverage

WPMT-TV (Fox 43)
Jill Family commented on the expiration of Title 42, a COVID-era policy put in place to limit immigration into the United States on May 11, 2023.

The Regulatory Review
Jill Family's opinion article was published on 4/11/18
Regulating Immigration in a Deregulatory Administration

The Seattle Times
Jill Family was quoted on 4/4/18
As Trump orders judges to hurry up, look inside immigration court’s ‘alternate legal universe’

ABC27
Jill Family provided commentary on 4/27/18
Local DACA recipient talks about uncertainty of the program, judge’s latest ruling

ABC 27 News
Jill Family was featured on 2/1/18
#MeToo, Now What? Midstate women team up to combat workplace misconduct

WalletHub
Jill Family was quoted on 1/30/18
Economic Impact of Immigration by State

Smart Talk
Jill Family was featured on 1/17/18
DACA from local perspective 

ABC 27 News
Jill Family was featured on 1/11/18
Local immigration expert weighs in on plan to end DACA 

WITF-FM Smart Talk
Jill Family was interviewed on 9/8/17
DACA’s future/Prepared for disaster?

Notice & Comment
Jill Family was a guest blogger on 3/15/17
Due Process waivers in immigration law

CBS 21
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 3/6/17
100 Voices| Local lawyer weighs in on new travel ban

CBS 21
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 3/1/17
Law professor discusses Trump's talk of immigration in speech to Congress

Notice and Comment
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 2/21/17
Due Process Sleight of Hand 

CBS 21
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 2/21/17
Aggressive approach predicted for handling of immigrants

Notice and Comment
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 2/14/17
Disrupting Immigration Sovereignty

CBS 21
Jill Family was interviewed on 2/13/17
100 Voices Law professor breaks down status of Trump's travel ban

Notice and Comment
Jill Family wrote a guest post on 1/29/17
Draining Due Process

ABC27 WHTM-TV
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 1/29/17
Immigration expert discusses president's executive orders

Quartz
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 11/19/16
The next US attorney general has already written a handbook on how the US should deal with immigration

PennLive
Jill Family’s op-ed was published on 5/3/16
Here’s what’s really at stake in Texas’ challenge to Obama’s immigration policies

Rotunda Ramblings Podcast
Jill Family was interviewed on 4/22/16
Pennsylvania Legislative Services

WHTM-TV
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 1/19/16
Midstate law professor on SCOTUS immigration

Pittsburgh Tribute-Review
Jill Family provided expert commentary on 10/31/15
Pennsylvania Supreme Court election will change course of history

C-Span
Jill Family, expert commentary was featured
Segment on Key Capitol Hill Hearings aired 9/1/15 (No link available)

Tomorrow
Jill Family, was quoted on 6/19/15
Immigration Procedure Used to Block Individual Rights, Says Researcher

Dallas Morning News
Jill Family, quoted on 3/19/15.
Cruz uses hearing to deride Obama’s ‘executive amnesty’ 

CSPAN
An Unexceptional Aspect of President Obama’s Immigration Actions, Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2015.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?323544-1/discussion-executive-action-separation-powers

Philadelphia Inquirer
Jill Family, quoted on 11/23/14
Immigration order: Happiness for some, for others heartbreak

WITF-FM Radio Smart Talk
Jill Family, interviewed on 11/20/14
Smart Talk: Obama's immigration move; Fire prevention

Selected Presentations

An Unexceptional Aspect of President Obama’s Immigration Actions, Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2015.

Executive Power in Immigration Law, Homeland Security Law Institute, Washington, D.C., August 22, 2014.

Removing the Distraction of Delay, Immigration Law Professors’ Workshop, University of California, Irvine School of Law, Irvine, California, May 23, 2014.

Immigration Sovereignty and Immigration Adjudication, Migration & Law Network, Birkbeck College School of Law, London, England, March 28, 2014.

Peeling Back Delay:  Sovereignty and Restrictions on Immigration Judicial Review, Rutgers University School of Law- Camden, Camden, New Jersey, February 17, 2014.

Moderator, Innovations and Challenges in Immigration Benefits Adjudication:  Legislation, Policy and Operations, Homeland Security Law Institute, Washington, D.C., June 20, 2013.

Discussion Leader, Emerging Immigration Law Scholars and Teachers Conference, Irvine, CA, June 13, 2013 (commented on two papers:  Ming Chen, Doctrines of Deference Doing the Job in Immigrants' Workers Compensation Claims and Alina Das, Unshackling Habeas Review: Chevron Deference in Immigration Detention Cases).

Panelist, Judicial Review and the Legal Requirement of Discretion in Adjudications of Immigration Applications, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman’s 2012 Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., October 18, 2012.

Immigration Law and Administrative Law, University of Arizona School of Law, Tucson, Arizona, September 21, 2012.

Guiding Guidance:  A Blueprint for Immigration Law, Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York, September 6, 2012.

Review of Immigration Cases in the United States and the United Kingdom, Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), Ministry of Justice, London, United Kingdom, May 21, 2012.

Immigration Law in the Mainstream:  Guidance Documents and Benefits Adjudication, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., February 17, 2012.

Testimony

March 19, 2015.  Senate Judiciary’s Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts subcommittee chaired by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Professor Family was one of three experts who discussed the immigration policy President Obama announced recently that would have provided temporary relief from deportation for some undocumented immigrants – and the ensuing court challenge that resulted in a federal judge blocking the new policy last month. 

Twitter

@widenerLG (Law and Government Institute on twitter)

Jotwell

http://www.Jotwell.com (Founding editor of Immigration Law section)

faculty directory a-d e-k l-p q-z