First Mission Statement (1952) of the
American Bar Association's Section on Family Law.

“The ultimate purpose of this organization shall be to bring about improvement in the laws of the several states relating to marriage and divorce and allied phases of family life, to the end that the law, in both philosophy and procedure, may tend to conserve, not disserve, family life; that it may be constructive, not destructive, as to marriage; that it may be helpful, not harmful, to the individual partners and their children; that it may be preventive, rather than punitive as to marriage and family failure.” (quoted in the Alexander article below)

Two articles describing the early history of the ABA's Section on Family Law:

"Public Service by Lawyers in the Field of Divorce," Judge Paul W. Alexander, Ohio State Law Journal, 1952, p 13. (5 pages)

"The Ten-Year Struggle for a Section of Family Law," Clarence Kolwyck, FLQ, 1969, p 254. (5 pages).