Jacqueline Gaines, is an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Education and an Ohio-licensed attorney with over 20 years of experience. For 13 years, she served as a family law magistrate, presiding over complex cases involving child custody, parenting time, domestic violence, contempt, and property division. Prior to that, she worked in private practice for six years with a focus on business litigation and employment law.
For over a decade, while holding a full-time law job, she also served as an adjunct professor at several institutions, including the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University, the University of Dayton School of Law, and Central State University. In 2025, she made the decision to transition from practicing law full-time to full-time teaching. Antioch College gave her that opportunity.
Current Research: Economic Abuse in Intimate Partner Relationships
Professor Gaines is currently writing a scholarly journal article about economic abuse in intimate partner relationships, with a goal of completing it by the end of the 2025–2026 academic year. “Economic abuse is a form of domestic violence, but it does not garner the same attention as physical violence,” she explains. “As a society, we should pay more attention to economic abuse because it is prevalent and is on the rise. Economic abuse is a contributing factor to poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. The lack of economic security leads domestic violence victims to stay in abusive relationships.”
The Antioch Connection
Professor Gaines hopes that students leave her classes and mentorship with a sense that they are capable of achieving their professional aspirations because they are well equipped with the skills necessary to do so. Working at Antioch aligns with her professional values. “Antioch has a storied civil rights and social justice history, and it has been a pioneer in higher education,” she says. “I am proud of the legacy of Antioch’s first president, Horace Mann, who is known as the father of American education and was an abolitionist. I am proud that the first lady of the Civil Rights Movement, Coretta Scott King, was an alumna, and I support the mission of the Coretta Scott King Center under the directorship of Dr. Queen Zabriskie. I believe in Antioch’s mission to make a life changing college education accessible to all. I am proud that Antioch is the first federal work college in Ohio and of the dual work program which enables students to graduate with real world work experience.”
Law School Trip and Future Programming
During fall term, Professor Gaines, Lara Mitias, and Richard Kraince took a group of ten students to the University of Dayton Law Day Fair, where admissions representatives from law schools across the country were present. “I wanted students to have the opportunity to talk to law schools in order to demystify the law school admissions process,” she shares. “I wanted students to know that attending law school is a viable option for them and that there are many types of practice areas you can enter into, from environmental law to civil rights law to corporate law.” She believes that exposure to the law is important so that students can see that a law degree is versatile and can be used for community organizing or to enter various career fields that may not directly involve being in the courtroom. Her plan is to take Antioch students to the UD Law Day Fair every year.
Future events for the Law Group will include viewing and discussing law related movies and documentaries, as well as lunch and learns where alumni who are lawyers can present to students and answer their questions about their law practice. She is also interested in working with students to help them organize law programming that interests them.
Outside the Office
When she is not teaching or writing, Professor Gaines grows a small vegetable garden, spends time with her dog and cat, and enjoys traveling and exploring new places with family and friends.
