Faculty/Staff Profile
Gillian Chadwick joined the Washburn Law faculty in 2016. Previously she was a Clinical Teaching Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center in the Domestic Violence Clinic. Prior to that, she was the Director of Survivor Services at Ayuda in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program, where she supervised legal and social services staff and represented immigrant victims of gender-based violence in domestic violence, domestic relations, and immigration matters in Washington, D.C. She also worked as an Arnold & Porter Equal Justice Works Fellow at Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE), where she focused on economic and employment issues facing survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Professor Chadwick is a graduate of American University Washington College of Law, where she was a Public Interest/Public Service Scholar, and the University of Maryland, where she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
Professor Chadwick is Director of the Children and Family Law Center.
Professor Chadwick's Recommended Reading on Racial Justice:
"Parenting Under Siege: Reckoning with Coercive Control," 57 Connecticut Law Review ___ (forthcoming) (with Courtney Cross).
"Coercive Control in High-Conflict Custody Litigation," 57 Family Law Quarterly 31 (2024) (with Stef Sloan).
"The Noncitizen Parent Trap: How Abuse Victims Become Stuck Between Family Court and Immigration Law," 71 Kansas Law Review 621 (2023).
"Time's Up for Attorney-Client Sexual Violence," 22 University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class 76 (2022).
"(Un)Supervised Student Practice," 58 San Diego Law Review 497 (2021).
"Legitimating the Transnational Family," 42 Harvard Journal of Law and Gender 257 (2019).
"Reorienting the Rules of Evidence," 39 Cardozo Law Review 2115 (2018).
"Domestic Violence" in Practitioner’s Guide to Kansas Family Law, 3rd ed. (Kansas Bar Association, 2023) (with Emily Hartz).
"Representing Special Populations In Civil Protection Order Cases" (with Scheick) in Litigating Civil Protection Order Cases: A Practical Manual, 6th ed. (Deborah Epstein & Laurie Kohn) (Washington, D.C.: Emergency Domestic Relations Project, 2015).
"Race, Disability and Coercive Control: One More Look at the Gabby Petito Case," Ms. (September 29, 2021).
"An Ode to Readable Emails," 90:5 Journal of the Kansas Bar Association 21 (September/October 2021).
"The Other Birthright Citizenship Question—Who Decides?," Washburn Law Journal Blog, November 3, 2018 (with David S. Rubenstein). Republished: Notice & Comment, blog from Yale Journal on Regulation and the ABA Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice (November 5, 2018)."Predator In Chief: President Trump and the Glorification of Sexual Violence," The Huffington Post (November 30, 2016).
Contributor, "Picked Apart: The Hidden Struggles of Migrant Worker Women In the Maryland Crab Industry," Washington College of Law International Human Rights Law Clinic & Centro De Los Derechos Del Migrante, Inc. (July 14, 2010).
Quoted, "Alleged Sexual Misconduct by Lawyers Isn't Uncommon. But Facing Punishment Is Tricky," NPR - Kansas Public Radio, May 28, 2024.
Quoted, "Are Attys Being Held Accountable For Client Sexual Contact?," Law 360, June 28, 2023.
Guest, "Sexual Assault in the LGBTQ Community," KC CARE Health Center's Unboxed web series on Sexual Assault, April 7 and April 14, 2021.
Interviewed, "Groups Trying to Stop Execution of Lisa Montgomery, Who Killed Skidmore Woman, Cut Baby from Womb," Fox4 News, November 11, 2020.
Quoted, "House Weighs Adopting Presumption of Equal Time in Child Custody," The Topeka Capital Journal, March 9, 2020.
Pro bono representation, "Human Trafficking Victim Files Suit Against Promise Keepers to Recoup Nearly $8M Awarded to Her," Legal Newsline, March 13, 2019 (with legal team from McGuireWoods led by Betsy Hutson).
Quoted, "Law School Clinics Support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients," The National Jurist, September 28, 2017.
Quoted, "Washburn, University of Kansas Law Clinics Offer Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Renewal Assistance Before Deadline," The Topeka Capital Journal, September 13, 2017.
Quoted, "Former Students Say Stanford Tried to Buy its Way out of Title IX Investigations," BuzzFeed, December 17, 2016.
Quoted, "Control and Fear: What Mass Killings and Domestic Violence Have in Common," The New York Times, June 15, 2016.
Profiled, "Putting the Law to Work in a Life-Threatening Situation," The Washington Post, July 1, 2011.
"IEFV | Parenting Under Siege: Reckoning with Coercive Control," University of California, Irvine School of Law, Webinar, March 15, 2024.
"Teaching Executive Function as a Lawyering Skill in a Neurodiverse World," Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2023 Conference on Clinical Legal Education, San Francisco, California, April 30, 2023 (with Courtney Cross, Amber Baylor and Priya Baskaran).
"Effective Strategies for Clinical Supervision," Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) New Clinicians Conference, Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California, April 27, 2023 (Allyson Gold and Courtney Cross).
"Introduction to Legal Services Agreements," American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Live Webinar, January 24, 2023 (with Alicia Aiken and Kimberly Waldon).
"The Noncitizen Parent Trap," Kansas Law Review Symposium, University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Kansas, November 15, 2022.
"Power in Your Practice: Ethics, Professionalism, and Practical Considerations for Handling Aggressive Opposing Counsel and Parties," Virginia Poverty Law Center, Annual Statewide Legal Aid Conference, Virginia Beach, Virginia, October 21, 2022.
"Direct and Cross Examination Issues," American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, September 20, 2022 (with Jaya Badiga) (via Zoom)
"Discovery," American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, September 19, 2022 (with Ellen Schell) (via Zoom).
"Mindful Mental Skills for Lawyers," 2022 Selected Topics and Miscellany CLE, Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas, June 23, 2022.
Co-presenter, "Decentralizing Domestic Violence," Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2022 Conference on Clinical Legal Education, May 11, 2022 (Zoom).
"Cross Examination," (with Kelly Stoner) and "Order Modification," (with Lenina Trinidad), ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, April 13-14, 2022.
Co-Presenter, "Strategy Session: Aggressive Opposing Counsel & Parties," American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, March 29, 2022 (webinar).
"Evidence-Based Decision-Making Models in Child Custody Cases," 2021 Selected Topics and Miscellany CLE webinar, Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas, June 18, 2021.
Moderator, "A View from the Bench: Representing Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence," Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, June 4, 2021 (online panel).
Panelist, "Gender in Jail, Prison & Coming Home: Intersectional and Innovative Approaches to Advocacy," Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2021 Conference on Clinical Legal Education, April 29, 2021 (virtual).
"Immigration Remedies for Survivors of Human Trafficking & Similar Crimes," International Rescue Committee, Anti-Trafficking Program, Wichita, Kansas, January 27, 2021 (virtual event).
"Productivity, Wellness, and Ethics During the Pandemic and Beyond," 2020 Selected Topics and Miscellany CLE webinar, Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas, June 19, 2020.
Panelist, "Immigration, Citizenship, and Family Law," University of Denver Law Review Symposium on Immigration Law in Shifting Times, February 7, 2020.
"Order Modifications," Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Addison, Texas, June 28, 2019 (with Katie Wessling).
"Direct Examination Issues," Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Addison, Texas, June 27, 2019 (with Amie Lopez).
"Advanced Standing: LGBTQ Parents," Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Addison, Texas, June 26, 2019 (with Madeline Garcia Bigelow).
Panelist, "Legal Professionals Assisting Human Trafficking Survivors," Kansas Bar Association (KBA) Annual Meeting, Topeka, Kansas, June 21, 2019.
"Use and Integration of Witnesses," Custody Litigation Institute: Representing Victims of Domestic Violence in Custody Cases, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence in collaboration with the Committee on Regional Training, Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 5, 2019 (with Amie Lopez).
"Conducting Effective Client Interviews," Custody Litigation Institute: Representing Victims of Domestic Violence in Custody Cases, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence in collaboration with the Committee on Regional Training, Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 4, 2019 (with Madeline Garcia Bigelow).
"Bridging Language Barriers in Client Representation," John E. Shamberg Memorial Series, Kansas Bar Association CLE webinar, May 23, 2019.
Panelist, "Forging Clinic Collaborations with Non-Legal Partners: How Working Alongside Non-Lawyers Advances Student Learning," Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2019 Conference on Clinical Legal Education, San Francisco, California, May 6, 2019.
"Legitimating the Transnational Family," Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law Symposium, Shaping American Nationalism: Immigration Law, Gender, and Sexuality, Washington, D.C., November 9, 2018.
"Introduction to Laying Evidentiary Foundations," American Bar Association, Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Trial Skills Institute, Chicago, Illinois, August 1, 2018 (with Madeline Garcia Bigelow).
"Legitimating the Transnational Family," Association of American Law Schools, 41st Annual Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Chicago, Illinois, May 2, 2018 (work-in-progress).
"Issues with Order Modification," American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, Dallas, Texas, March 2, 2018 (with Stacey Platt)
"Direct Examination Issues," American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, Dallas, Texas, March 1, 2018 (with Amie Lopez)
"Challenges with Discovery," American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, Advanced Custody Litigation Institute, Dallas, Texas, February 28, 2018 (with Erin Scheick)
"Brief Service Fairs: Identifying Learning Goals and Navigating Ethical Challenges," Midwest Clinical Legal Education Conference, University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Kansas, October 13, 2017 (with Michelle Ewert).
"Addressing LGBTQ Bias in Legal Systems," ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence training program, "A Coordinated Response: Legal System Advocacy for LGBTQ Victims of Intimate Partner Violence" Frankfort, Kentucky, September 27, 2017 (with Kelly Behre).
"Bridging Language Barriers in Client Representation," 2017 Selected Topics and Miscellany CLE, Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas, June 30, 2017.
"Negotiations and Settlements," Custody Litigation Training: Representing Victims of Domestic Violence in Custody Cases, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Washington, D.C., March 9, 2017 (with Wemi Peters).
"Effectively Navigating the System: Players and their Roles," Custody Litigation Training: Representing Victims of Domestic Violence in Custody Cases, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Washington, D.C., March 8, 2017 (with Erin Scheick).
Co-Presenter, "Immigration Law in Family and Domestic Violence Court," New Judges' Training, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, January 29, 2014.
Panelist, "Advocating for Immigrant Survivors in Protection Order Proceedings," National Training Institute on Protection Order Practice for Attorneys and Advocates, Battered Women's Justice Project, Washington, D.C., August 6, 2013.
Panelist, Realizing the American Dream? Contemporary Challenges Facing H-2B Guest Workers and their Advocates Symposium, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2009.
Testified in the Kansas House Judiciary Committee regarding HB 2185, February 7, 2023.
Testified in the Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee for the Kansas Judicial Council in support of SB 123, February 11, 2021 (regarding the termination of parental rights when a child is conceived by sexual assault).
Testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in support of SB 404 on behalf of the Kansas Judicial Council and its Family Law Advisory Committee, February 20, 2020 (SN 404 protects rape victims who become pregnant as a result of rape from having to coparent with their rapist).
Ross v. Jenkins, 2:17-cv-02547-DDC-TJJ, United States District Court for the District of Kansas, May 23, 2018 (secured $8M civil judgment for a survivor of human trafficking by a “regimented cult”).
Brief of Amicus Curiae, Schreiber v. Cissna, et al, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, December 30, 2018 (on behalf of the Children and Family Law Center advocating for the rights of adoptive parents and children under immigration law).
Brief of Amicus Curiae, In Re Fry and Spencer, 2017-DM-005889-DS, Sedgwick County District Court, March 28, 2017 (on behalf of the Children and Family Law Center advocating for the rights of non-gestational parents and validity of same-sex common law marriage).
Board Member, Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission, July 1, 2021-.
Member, Mayor's Taskforce Against Domestic Violence, 2021-.
Faculty, American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2016-.
Member, Family Law Advisory Committee, Kansas Judicial Council, 2016-.
Recipient, 2023 Kansas Bar Association Pro Bono Award, Washburn University School of Law Children and Family Law Center Project.
Recipient, Annual Women of Excellence award, YWCA of Northeast Kansas, 2021 (Washburn Law Clinic contributions to the community).