Whether in the courtroom or on the crisis line, advocates in any domestic violence agency are regularly confronted with legal concerns from survivors. Often, this comes in the form of direct questions from survivors about their legal rights and responsibilities but even more often, advocates must recognize these issues during the course of service and know how to address them in a trauma-informed manner through safety planning, advocacy, and referrals. We may commonly think of the legal needs of survivors as being tied to civil protective orders and criminal court but these areas, while important, constitute just the tip of the iceberg!
In this three day intensive legal seminar, advocates will learn to issue-spot the legal needs of survivors and learn how to respond in an empowering, informed way. On day one, advocates will “meet” three clients with very different histories and learn about their families, their abusers, their legal situations and their goals. Following presentations on various legal topics, advocates will work with the three client case studies on a variety of simulated legal scenarios and apply the information learned during each presentation to the clients’ individual cases. Topics include a primer on civil and criminal court for domestic violence survivors, working with minors, child custody, immigration benefits available to survivors, language access in the court system, assisting victims with criminal justice involvement, and avoiding the unauthorized practice of law.
Though this course will cover more advanced material than our “Basic Court Advocacy” program, prior completion of that program is not required. It is, however, mandatory that you complete the “Domestic Violence Basics” or equivalent training prior to attending the Legal Advocates Institute. Optional certification will be available upon successful completion of the course and an exam.
Day 1: Confidentiality
Day 2: Introduction to Court Advocacy: Civil Court and Custody
Day 3: Advocating for Clients in Criminal Court and Serving Specific Populations and Accessing Remedies Outside of the Court System
Event Date | 07-23-2019 8:30 am |
Event End Date | 07-25-2019 5:00 pm |
Registration Start Date | 11-28-2018 |
Capacity | 30 |
Cut off date | 07-08-2019 |
Individual Price |
Members: FREE |