Vivek Subramanian SankaranVivek S. Sankaran is a clinical professor of law and directs both the Child Advocacy Law Clinic and the Child Welfare Appellate Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School. Sankaran also founded the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy, which aims o safely reduce the number of children in foster care by providing families with legal and social work advocacy.
Professor Sankaran's research and policy interests center on improving outcomes for children in child abuse and neglect cases by empowering parents and strengthening due process protections in the child welfare system. Sankaran sits on the steering committee of the ABA National Project to Improve Representation for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System. He has litigated numerous cases on behalf of parents before the Michigan Supreme Court. He also has authored scholarly pieces and practical resource guides to assist professionals working with parents in the system and regularly conducts national and statewide training on these issues.
Sankaran earned his BA, magna cum laude, from the College of William and Mary. He earned his JD, cum laude, from Michigan Law School, where he was an associate editor of the Michigan Law Review. After law school, he joined "The Children's Law Center (CLC)" as a Skadden Fellow and became a permanent staff attorney with the CLC in September 2003. Sankaran was named the "2004 Michigan Law School Public Interest Alumni of the Year" and in 2006 and was certified as a child welfare specialist by the National Association of Counsel for Children. In 2011, he was named the "Parent Attorney of the Year" by the Michigan Foster Care Review Board. Read More Read Less