About Danielle Wingfield

Danielle’s deep commitment to child advocacy work led her to pursue a career in the field of law.  Danielle began her legal career assisting families and children at the Jeanette Lipman Family Law Clinic in Richmond, Virginia.  Working with the clinic gave her valuable experience as she litigated cases relating to foster care, divorce, custody, visitation, domestic violence, public benefits, housing, children in need of services, and education, which were heard in the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Courts in Richmond and Chesterfield, Virginia.  During her time at the clinic, Danielle had the privilege of serving as the understudy of Dale Cecka, Esquire, co-author of the 2018 edition of Virginia Practice, Family Law: Theory, Practice, and Forms, one of the major authorities for the practice of family law in Virginia.  While under her tutelage, Danielle learned the practice of law and mastered the skills necessary to be effective as a trial attorney.

Since her time at the Jeanette Lipman Family Law Clinic, Danielle has earned a law degree from the University of Richmond and a doctoral degree in Leadership, Foundations, and Policy from the University of Virginia.  Danielle’s scholarly pursuits and work as a legal advocate for children both serve to help her meet her goal of helping people successfully navigate legal and educational systems.

Upon completion of her studies, Danielle worked as an associate attorney at McGeorge Williams Law, LLC.  While there, Danielle handled a wide variety of family law matters. As an associate, she handled child custody and support cases, contested and uncontested divorces, separation agreements, protective orders, and adoptions.

Children who find themselves in the justice system are especially vulnerable, as they often are unable to achieve fair and just outcomes for themselves without competent and caring representation.  Being a voice for the vulnerable was an impetus for Danielle taking an interest in this work. Danielle received a Certificate of Achievement from the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar in 2014. In 2015, Danielle was qualified by the Supreme Court of Virginia as a guardian ad litem for children.  She is passionate about guardian ad litem work and takes seriously the role the service plays in providing zealous advocacy.

Today, Danielle primarily works as a law professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. Danielle teaches and writes in the areas of family law, constitutional law, and civil rights history. She also mentors students with an interest in public interest and child advocacy work. Further, Danielle uses her scholarship to explore ways to create systemic change for children and their families.

Danielle is honored to be Of Counsel for the Child Advocate Law Firm of Charlottesville, VA, and for the opportunity to help advance its mission of providing high-level advocacy that serves the best interest of children.

Bar Admissions

  • Commonwealth of Virginia, December 2015

Education

  • University of Virginia, PhD
University of Richmond School of Law, JD
The College of William and Mary, BA

Publications

  • The Right to Homeplace: Reframing Public Education and Family Regulation Convergence in the Best Interest of Families, (forthcoming 2024)
  • The Resurgence of Massive Resistance, 81 WASHINGTON & LEE L. REV. ___ (forthcoming 2024).
  • Pathways to Liberty: What Colonial, Antebellum, and Postbellum Education Can Teach us About Today, 32 WM. & MARY BILL RTS. J. (2023).
  • Cynthia Plair Roddey: Carolina Activist and Teacher in the Movement, in TEACHING TO TRANSGRESS: THE ACTIVISM OF BLACK EDUCATORS FROM RECONSTRUCTION THROUGH THE CIVIL RIGHTS
    MOVEMENT (with Derrick P. Alridge and Alexis Johnson) (2022).
  • Movement Lawyers: Henry Marsh’s Long Struggle for Educational Justice, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND LAW REVIEW (2022).
  • The Right to Education in the Midst of a Pandemic, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW OF NOTE (2020).
  • Pardon Me Please: Cyntoia Brown and the Justice System’s Contempt for the Rights of Black People, 35 HARVARD BLACKLETTER LAW JOURNAL 85 (2019).
  • Co-editor, The Memoirs of Henry L. Marsh, III: Civil Rights Champion, Public Servant, Lawyer, with Law Professor Jonathan Stubbs, GrantHouse Publications (2018).
  • Book review of Litigating Across the Color Line: Civil Cases… by Melissa Milewski, The Journal of African American History (2018).

Professional Associations (Selected)

  • Virginia State Bar, Member
American Association of Law Schools (AALS)
  • Society of American Law Teachers (SALT)
  • Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS)
  • Law and Society Association (LSA)
  • American Society for Legal History (ASLH)
  • History of Education Society (HES)
  • The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)
  • Lutie A. Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Society
  • Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association
  • Family Law Section of the Virginia Bar
  • Hill Tucker Bar Association
  • UNESCO International Leadership Program

Past Employment Positions

  • Gonzaga University School of Law, Center for Civil and Human Rights, Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
  • University of Virginia, Post-Doctoral Fellow
  • McGeorge Williams Law, LLC, Associate Attorney
Jeanette Lipman Family Law Clinic, Student Associate
Senator Henry Marsh III, Senate of Virginia, Law Clerk and Research Assistant

Pro-Bono & Volunteer Experience (Selected)

  • Family Law Section, Virginia State Bar, Founding Board Member, Richmond, VA (2024-present)
  • Board of Directors Member, Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association (2020-2022)
  • Executive Committee and Leadership Member, American Association of Law Schools
  • Section (AALS) on Minority Groups (2022)
  • Children’s Home Society, Richmond, VA (2017)
Ghana Human Rights Advocacy Centre, Accra, Ghana (2013)

Office Location

The Child Advocate Law Firm PLLC
1726 Allied Street, Suite 2B
Charlottesville, VA 22903