Polikoff's work focuses on LGBT rights, family law, and gender identity issues.
[1] In 1976, Polikoff was a co-author of one of the first law review articles about the custody rights of lesbian mothers.
Polikoff was a visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center the spring of 2015.
[1] Polikoff was the chair of the Association of American Law Schools section on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.
[2] As of February 2019[update], Polikoff is a professor emerita at American University Washington College of Law.
[5] Polikoff was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award Best LGBT Non-Fiction in 2009 for her book, Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage.