New NY Child Custody Law Protects Rights of Unmarried Fathers

A New Law Co-Drafted by Christine Gottlieb Protects Custody Rights for Unmarried Fathers 

On December 30, 2022, Governor Kathy Holchul signed the Parental Equity Act, which amended decades-old legislation to provide unwed fathers a full and fair opportunity to maintain custody of their child. The new law was written by Christine Gottlieb ’97, director of NYU Law’s Family Defense Clinic, and Amy Mulzer, a senior attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services and a former Family Defense Clinic fellow.

Gottlieb and Mulzer drafted the bill with two goals in mind: to reunite children with parents whenever safely possible, and to deconstruct the gender stereotypes that they say the previous law perpetuated. 

In this Q&A, Gottlieb talks about her 20 years in the Family Defense Clinic, the court case that inspired the Parental Equity Act, and the work that went into getting the bill to the governor’s desk.