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Dana Harrington Conner
Associate Dean of Experiential Learning & Professor of Law
B.A., University of South Carolina
J.D., Widener University School of Law
Professor Harrington Conner received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina in 1989 and her Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.
Office Number 304
Please understand that due to the possibility of conflicts, Dana Harrington Conner, Esq. does not accept requests for legal assistance, including by telephone or email.
About
Professor Dana Harrington Conner is the Associate Dean of Experiential Learning, overseeing the externship and clinical programs at Delaware Law School.
Professor Harrington Conner teaches in the areas of domestic violence, violence against women, family law, evidence and professional responsibility at Delaware Law School. She is the former director of the Delaware Civil Clinic (DCC). The DCC is a live client clinic created in 1984, in an effort to provide practical experience to law students through civic engagement in the Delaware community. The primary focus of the DCC is the representation of survivors of domestic violence. Harrington Conner is also the Co-Director of the Family Health Law and Policy Institute (“FHLPI”). FHLPI is dedicated to education and law reform relating to the intersection of families and their health.
Harrington Conner’s scholarship focuses on intimate partner violence, violence against women, family health, and inequality. Her current research agenda relates to intimate partner violence as a significant family health policy issue. Her published work relates to women, money and domestic abuse; the intersection of child custody and intimate partner violence; as well as ethical issues, client protection, and domestic violence.
Early in her legal career, Professor Harrington Conner became one of the first attorneys in the State of Delaware to represent survivors of domestic violence seeking civil protection from abuse. During her term as the Domestic Violence Attorney for Delaware Volunteer Legal Service she assisted countless individuals obtain protecti on and successfully argued the Review of Commissioners' Decisions, helping to define the new l aw in Delaware. In 1996, she became the Managing Attorney of Delaware Volunteer Legal Services and the Supervising Attorney of the DCC, where she served until joining the full-time faculty of Widener School of Law in 2004.
In 2002, the American Inns of Court presented Professor Harrington Conner with the Sandra Day O'Connor Professional Service Award for her outstanding work in public interest, pro bono and community service. The award was presented during the American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the United States Supreme Court. Professor Harrington Conner is also the recipient of the Delaware State Bar Association's 2002 New Lawyers Distinguished Service Award for leadership dedicated to humanitarian service.
As an advocate for the rights of battered individuals , Professor Harrington Conner serves as the Vice-Chair of the Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and Co-Chair the Fatal Incident Review Team (FIRT). FIRT is responsible for reviewing deaths that occur as a result of domestic violence in the State of Delaware in an effort to reduce the occurrence of intimate partner homicide. Professor Harrington Conner is a past member of the Delaware Family Law Commission by appointment of the Delaware General Assembly. She is a pro bono volunteer attorney, a certified Family Court Mediator, certified Superior Court Arbitrator, and certified Superior Court Mediator.
Publications
Publications on Selected Works
Book Chapters
& Judge Jennifer Ranji and Thomas McDonough, Domestic Violence, in The Family Court of the State of Delaware Golden Anniversary 1971 - 2021 (2021).
Law Journal Articles
Polyvictimized Children & Intimate Partner Violence: Promoting Healthy Outcomes for Children, 22 Widener L. Rev. 215 (2016).
Civil Protection Order Duration: Proof, Procedural Issues & Policy Considerations, 24 Temp. Pol. & Civil Rts. L. Rev. 343 (2015).
Financial Freedom: Women, Money & Domestic Abuse, 20 W&M J. Women & L. 339 (2014) (reprinted in Women and the Law, 2015 Edition).
Back to the Drawing Board: Barriers to Joint Decision-Making in Custody Cases Involving Intimate Partner Violence, 18 Duke J. Gender L. & Pol’y 223 (2011).
Abuse and Discretion: Evaluating Judicial Discretion in Custody Cases Involving Violence Against Women, 17 Am. U. J. Gender, Soc. Pol'y & L. 163 (2009).
Do No Harm: An Analysis of the Legal and Social Consequences of Child Visitation Determinations for Incarcerated Perpetrators of Extreme Acts of Violence Against Women, Colum. 17 Colum. J. Gender & L. 163 (2008).
To Protect or to Serve: Confidentiality, Client Protection and Domestic Violence, 79 Temp. L. Rev. 877 (2006).
Other Written Work
Expanding the Definition of Intimate Partner Violence, Economic Abuse, & VAWA, DCADV blog Post (July 2022) available at https://dcadv.org/blog/ex.html.
Reflections of 75 Years of Civil Legal Aid, 45 The Journal 3, Oct., at 25-26 (2021).
& John Culhane and Alicia Kelly, Delaware Family Court Protection from Abuse (PFA) Instruction Packet available at https://www.courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=105108 (2018).
& John Culhane and Alicia Kelly. Update, Delaware Family Court Child Custody Instruction Packet available at https://www.courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=39268 (2018).
& Nathaniel C. Nicholas and Thomas J. Reed, Service Learning and Legal Education: A Sense of Duty, 15 WIDENER SCH. OF L. MAG., at 4-5 (2008).
Societal Views and Survivors of Domestic Violence: Asking the Right Questions, 13 WIDENER SCH. OF L. MAG., at 10 (2006).
Mentoring Volunteers: Attorneys & Law Students, The Bencher, Jan./Feb., at 14 (2004).
Presentations
Temple University Beasley School of Law, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 20th Anniversary: Fulfilling the Promise of Safety & Justice (November, 2014)
Presenter, Maximum Duration of Protection Orders: Proof & Policy Considerations
State of Delaware, Justice of the Peace Court Training (November 2014)
Presenter, Domestic Violence: Risk Assessment, No-Contact Provisions, & Conditions of Release
Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy Symposium: The Changing Face of Families (February, 2011)
Presenter, Joint Decision-Making in Custody Cases Involving IPV
Delaware State Bar Association’s Family Law Update (December, 2008)
Presenter, Teen Dating Violence and Stalking
Update for Feminist Law Professors, Temple Law School (February, 2007)
Presenter, Visitation Determinations for Incarcerated Perpetrators of Violence Against Women
Domestic Violence Symposium, Widener School of Law (Spring, 2005)
Presenter, Dynamics of Domestic Violence & Failure to Protect
Real Evidence for the Trial Practitioner in Delaware (Fall, 2005)
Presenter, Ethics and the Trial Lawyer
Will Drafting Continuing Legal Education Seminar (2002 & 2003)
Instructor
Fundamentals of Family Law Seminar (1997 - 2002)
Presenter, Dynamics of Domestic Violence
DVLS, Domestic Violence CLE Seminars (1997 – 2004)
Instructor, How to Handle a Protection From Abuse Case