Warren Binford is an internationally recognized children's rights scholar and advocate who holds a tenured position as Professor of Law and serves as the Director of the Clinical Law Program at Willamette University. Professor Binford renovated Willamette’s entire Clinical Law Program in 2005, and founded Willamette's Child and Family Advocacy Clinic, which has provided pro bono legal support to children and families in crisis, as well as guidance on legislation and public policy.
Professor Binford was selected as both a Fulbright Scholar in 2012 in South Africa and the inaugural Fulbright Canada-Palix Foundation Distinguished Visiting Chair in Brain Science and Child and Family Health and Wellness in 2015 at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, where she researched the multidisciplinary effects of child sex abuse trauma on survivors. She has provided expertise and support to Save the Children, the International Red Cross, the International Criminal Court, the Japan Red Cross, the Croatia Red Cross, and the Dutch National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children, among many others. Professor Binford has served as a licensed foster parent, Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused and neglected children, and inner city teacher in South Central Los Angeles, Boston, and London.
In addition to her child advocacy and scholarship, Professor Binford is an experienced corporate attorney and negotiator who spent eight years at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP where she specialized in corporate transactions and litigation. She has continued her corporate practice by founding and teaching the Business Law Clinic at Willamette, which provides pro bono legal services to nonprofit organizations and emerging businesses in Oregon.
Professor Binford is admitted to practice law in California, Oregon, the United States District Court, Eastern and Northern Districts of California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Oregon from 2006-2011.
She has published nearly 60 law review articles, book chapters, essays, NGO publications, and editorials and has given approximately 150 presentations, primarily on topics related to children's issues, throughout the country and around the world. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A., summa cum laude with distinction, and an Ed.M. from Boston University. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
In her free time, Professor Binford is an avid snowboarder, hiker, backpacker, and mountain climber.
The Flores Exhibit #69
TEDx Talk: Sex, Porn & Manhood
Designing Your Curriculum to Maximize Student Learning
Professor Warren Binford's Fulbright semester in Africa
How to Be the World's Best Law Professor
The Need for Legal Representation of Unaccompanied Children
How to Be the World’s Best Law Student
SSRN Author Page
Education
- JD, Harvard University
- EdM, Boston University
- BA, Boston University, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with distinction
Academic Works
- A Children’s Rights Commentary on Turner v. Rogers, Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Family Law Opinions (Cambridge University Press (forthcoming in) 2019).
- The Death of a Clinic, 26 Clinical Law Review 99 (Fall 2019).
- Viewing Pornography through a Children’s Rights Lens, 25 Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention (2019); doi: 10.1080/10720162.2019.1578311.
- Constitutionalization of Children’s Rights, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law (Ranier Grote, Frauke Lachemann, & Rüdiger Wolfrum, eds.) (Oxford University Press 2016).
- "A Global Survey of Country Effort to Ensure Compensation for Child Pornography Victims" 13 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 37 (2015).
- "Beyond Paroline: Ensuring Meaningful Remedies for Child Pornography Victims" 35 Children's Legal Rights Journal 117 (2015).
- "How to Be the World’s Best Law Professor" 64 Journal of Legal Education 542 (2015).
- "The Constitutionalization of Children's Rights in South Africa: 1994-2014" 60 New York Law School Law Review 333 (2015).
- Use of Technology in Teaching, Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World, (Maranville, Bliss, Kaas and Lopez, eds.) (with Pistone) (Carolina Academic Press, 2015).
- "Envisioning a 21st-Century Legal Education", 41 Washington University Journal of Law and Policy 157 (2013).
- "Giving Voice to Unaccompanied Children in Removal Proceedings", 21 Willamette Journal of International Law & Dispute Resolution 34 (2013).
- "Saving Haiti's Children from Hell", 6 Intercultural Human Rights Law Review 11 (2011).
- "Sexting Teens Should Be Taught Self-Respect," Sexting 91 (Stefan Kiesbye, ed.) (2011).
- "Reconstructing a Clinic," 15 Clinical Law Review 283 (2009).
- "Lessons from One School: Children at Tuol Sleng Torture Prison and the Rise of International Protections for Children in War," 16 Willamette Journal of International Law and Dispute Resolution 28 (2008).
- When Free Expression Gets Expensive: Legalities, Liabilities, and Realities, The Role of Freedom of Expression in a Multicultural and Democratic Society (Jennifer L. Jopp, ed.) (2008).
- "Seeking Best Practices Among Intermediate Courts of Appeal: A Nascent Journey", 9 Journal of Appellate Practice and Process 1 (2007).
Other Notable Works
- Amicus Brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court: Brief of Legal Scholars and Nongovernmental Organizations as Amici Curiae in Support of Appellees (January 29, 2019).
- Congressional Briefing: Custody and Care of Children at the Border - 2019 Congressional Briefing Book
- Young People's Brief (Juliana v. U.S. case) Amicus Brief in the United State Court of Appeals Zero Hour on Behalf of Approximately 32,340 Children and Young People in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees (March 1, 2019).
- Amicus Brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence Against Children in U.S. v. Paroline (November 20, 2013).
- Utilizing the Communications Procedures of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, (forthcoming from Save the Children).
- Criminal Capacity and the Teenage Brain: Insights from Neurological Research, 14 Article 40: The Dynamics of Youth Justice & The Convention on The Rights of The Child in South Africa 1 (November 1, 2012).
- "Child Soldiers and Other Child Victims of Armed Conflict," Children in Armed Conflict 23-47 (October 1995).
- "The Rights of Children in Armed Conflict," Children in Armed Conflict 62-64 (October 1995).
Editorials and Non-Academic Essays
- Children Sent to Mexico Under Trump's Asylum policy face risk of abuse, trauma and sex trafficking, Dallas News Opinions (03/01/2020).
- The U.S. Is Mistreating Children in Its Custody. Can International Law Help?, The American Prospect, August 15, 2019 (with Michael Garcia Bochenek).
- How to Get Children Out of Cages, The Progressive, July 25, 2019 (with Michael Garcia Bochenek).
- Save These Children’s Lives, Now: The Humane Answer to the Border Catastrophe, The Daily News, June 27, 2019 (with Mary Kelly Persyn).
- Our Institutions Are Still Failing Sex-Abuse Survivors, Statesman Journal, October 10, 2018, p. 10A.
- Help Protect Families in More Ways than One this Election Day, Statesman Journal, November 1, 2017.
- Harness science to help victims of sexual abuse in Statesman Journal (April 9, 2016).
- The Supreme Court and the boiled brains of youth in Statesman Journal (January 30, 2016).
- Will Americans follow our heritage? in Statesman Journal (November 21, 2015).
- Does America Need a Children's Bill of Rights? in Jurist (November 9, 2015).
- Keeping our children safe in Statesman Journal (October 3, 2015).
- Saving the children of Nepal in Statesman Journal (May 3, 2015).
- Let Kids Roam Freely and Collect Stories, Lessons in Statesman Journal (January 25, 2015).
- When a Client Dies in California Lawyer 103 (January 2015).
- I Can’t Breathe: Voices of Justice in Transition Magazine at (Harvard University’s) Hutchins Center (December 2014).
- On Children, U.S. Stands with...Somalia? in Statesman Journal (November 20, 2014).
- Discovering Mandela's Children in Transition Magazine (Harvard University's Hutchins Center) (December 2014).
- What makes a Nobel Peace Prize laureate? in Statesman Journal (October 18, 2014).
- Discussing Unrepresented Child Refugees in The Mike Slater Radio Show (June 24, 2014).
- Child Refugees Need Legal Help in Statesman Journal (June 11, 2014).
- Congress Should Listen to Child Sex-Abuse Victims in Statesman Journal (April 25, 2014).
- Life Advice from a Harvard Mom in Statesman Journal (March 23, 2014).
- Paroline Raises Difficult Questions for Supreme Court in JURIST (February 27, 2014).
- Paroline Decision Will Have Worldwide Impact in Statesman Journal (January 26, 2014).
- The Impact of One Great Man in Statesman Journal (December 8, 2013).
- How to Win Ribbon for Worst Mothering in Statesman Journal (September 1, 2013).
- All Our Children Need a Fighting Chance, in Statesman Journal (May 19, 2013).
- The Angel Taxi Service in Willamette Lawyer (April 26, 2013).
- Leaning Back Makes You Rich in USA Today (April 6, 2013).
- "Law Professor Visits Africa to Study Children’s Issues: ‘They Are Part of Our Family,’" in Statesman Journal (February 2, 2013).
- Global Resources Needed to Combat Radiation Levels in Statesman Journal (September 25, 2011).
- Still Speechless After 10 Years in Statesman Journal (September 11, 2011).
- High Court Punts on Bend Girl's Interrogation in The Oregonian (June 14, 2011).
- Parents, Schools Must Work Together for Healthy Kids in Statesman Journal (May 4, 2011).
- Saving Oregon's Families, One Regulation at a Time in The Oregonian (January 25, 2011).
- Kind, Gentle Parenting Works Too in Statesman Journal (January 23, 2011).
- Motherhood is Not a Prison, But is a Struggle, in Statesman Journal (November 14, 2010).
- Haiti Case Shows How Far Children's Rights Have Come in Statesman Journal (February 7, 2010).
- Society Must Stay Vigilant Against Child Sex Abuse in Statesman Journal (October 27, 2009).
- Car Has More Constitutional Rights than Teen in Statesman Journal (May 3, 2009).
- Teach "Something Great to Imitate": Self Respect in The Sunday Oregonian (April 5, 2009).
- Raid on FLDS Should Raise Alarms in Statesman Journal (April 28, 2008).
- Climbing Mountains at Willamette University in Willamette Lawyer 14 (Spring 2008).
- No Time to Waste: Fashioning a Weapon To Combat Poverty, Violence and Mediocrity Annual Report of the President - Willamette University (2005).
- "Croatia's Deadly Legacy: Landmines and a Misguided Embargo Threaten Economic Recovery" Toward Freedom 20 (1996).
Selected Media
- “There’s Been Absolutely No Change in Procedure”: ICE Detention Facilities Are Not Prepared for the Coronavirus, Texas Monthly (03/20/2020).
- Immigrant Children More Imperiled Than Ever, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Think Out Loud (03/06/2020).
- Maria Cramer, When Are You Really an Adult?, The New York Times (January 18, 2020).
- The Witnesses - Inside the detention centers that shocked America, a professor and her peers documented the truth. Their assigned roles quickly unraveled., The Chronicle (10/16/2019).
- Barbara Bradley Hagerty, If a Child Is Jailed and No One Is There to Hear Him Cry, The Atlantic (August 22, 2019).
- Simon Romero, et al., Hungry, Scared and Sick: Inside the Migrant Detention Center in Clint, Tex. , N.Y. Times (July 9, 2019).
- Tommy Vietor, “ Dems in Disarray!,” Pod Save America (July 8, 2019).
- Amanpour & Company, Binford: Stop Politicising Migrant Children, CNN World (June 25, 2019).
- Lulu Garcia Navarro, Law Professor Describes Poor Conditions Where Migrant Children Are Held, NPR Weekend Edition (June 23, 2019).
- Isaac Chotiner, Inside a Texas Building Where the Government Is Holding Immigrant Children, The New Yorker (June 22, 2019).