Richard D. Balnave

  • Professor of Law Emeritus

Richard Balnave came to the Law School in 1984 to direct the Family Law Clinic following eight years of practice. Balnave served as staff attorney and later managing attorney of Legal Services of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and then as counsel for social service agencies in Luzerne County, Penn.

An expert in the areas of domestic relations and children's law, he served on the board of governors of the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and the Council of Domestic Relations Law Section of the Virginia Bar Association. He has lectured to Virginia circuit and district court judges and to the Virginia Court of Appeals about issues in Virginia domestic relations law. From 1990-96 he served on the Virginia Bar Association Commission on the Needs of Children, and since 1995 has been a member of the Supreme Court of Virginia's Court Improvement Project Advisory Committee Concerning Foster Care and Adoption. Balnave directed the Virginia Dispute Resolution Center from 1987-91, and served as a member of the Commission on the Future of Virginia's Judicial System in 1989.

Balnave is a past president of the board of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society and a former board member of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association. He has assisted Virginia General Assembly studies concerning child support guidelines, mediation of child custody disputes and court-annexed arbitration.

Education

  • J.D.
    Case Western Reserve University Law School
    1977
  • M.A.
    State University of New York at Albany
    1973
  • B.A.
    College of William and Mary
    1971

Textbooks

Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (8 ed. 2018).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (7 ed. 2017).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (6 ed. 2015).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (5 ed. 2014).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (3 ed. 2008).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (4 ed. 2008).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (2 ed. 2004).
Virginia Family Law: A Systematic Approach, Virginia CLE (1 ed. 1998).
Family Law and Practice in Virginia, Virginia Law Foundation (1993 ed. 1993).
Family Law and Practice in Virginia, Virginia Law Foundation (1986 ed. 1986).

Book Chapters

New Standards for Guardians Ad Litem: The Principles Applied, in 5th Annual Advanced Guardian Ad Litem Seminar, Virginia CLE, I-B-1 to I-B-29 (2003).
New Standards for Guardians Ad Litem: The Principles Applied (with Sharon S. England & Robert E. Shepherd), in 5th Annual Advanced Guardian Ad Litem Seminar, Virginia CLE, I-B-1 to I-B-29 (2003).
Evidentiary Issues (with Thomas J. Reed), in Family Law and Practice, Bender, 20–1 to 20 (1998).
Basic Property Disposition Rules (with Ann B. Oldfather), in Valuation and Distribution of Marital Property, Bender, 1–1 to 1 (1991).
Evidentiary Issues (with Thomas J. Reed), in Family Law and Practice, Bender, 20–1 to 20A (1991).
Interstate Support Proceedings (with Michael E. Barber), in Family Law and Practice, Bender, 48–1 to 48G (1990).
Enforcement of Court Orders (with Ellen J. Effron), in Family Law and Practice, Bender, 47–1 to 47A (1989).

Articles & Reviews

Summary Jury Trials and Mini-Trials: A Comparison, 3 Journal of Civil Litigation 141–154 (1991).

Current Courses

No courses were found for this instructor.

All Courses

Family Law Clinic
Criminal Practice Workshop
Trial Advocacy
Child Advocacy Clinic
Family - Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic
Professional Responsibility
Professional Responsibility in Public Interest Practice

IN THE NEWS

07/22/2009
Is Child Obesity Abuse? (New York Daily News)
07/21/2009
S.C. Case Looks on Child Obesity as Child Abuse. But Is It? (USA Today)
05/09/2008
Virginia Is Not for Adulterers (New York Observer)

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