CLINICAL & SKILLS PROGRAMS > Domestic Violence Law Practicum

Domestic Violence Practicum Internships
Fall 2007 and Spring 2008

Boalt supervisor: Nancy K. D. Lemon, Lecturer (510) 525-3164 or nlemon@law.berkeley.edu

[note: most of these placements can be done 11-19 hours a week for 3-5 credits, to be arranged with your on-site supervisor]

Civil Legal Settings

1. Family Violence Law Center (FVLC) – Oakland and Fremont

• many types of family law issues: Restraining Orders, custody, support, etc.; you can expect to represent clients in TRO hearings if you are certified

2. Bay Area Legal Aid – Richmond

• variety of types of legal work, many aspects of family law, some immigration law, all the clients are victims of domestic violence

3. Bay Area Legal Aid – Oakland

• variety of types of law affecting victims of domestic violence; rarely go to court, though there may be administrative hearings

4. Bay Area Legal Aid - San Francisco

• variety of types of law involving victims of domestic violence, rarely go to court, but may be administrative hearings

5. Employment Law Center of Legal Aid Society of San Francisco (Domestic Violence Project)

• federally funded statewide domestic violence project involving victims with employment issues; rarely go to court

6. Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) – San Mateo

• restraining orders, family law, immigration, housing, and other legal matters involving survivors of domestic violence; court at least weekly; you could represent clients in TRO hearings if certified

Immigration and Asylum Law

7. Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach - SF and Oakland

• they do advocacy, family law and immigration law for domestic violence survivors from Asian countries; require 15-20 hours a week, prefer students with some Asian language capacity or demonstrated commitment to serving Asian/Pacific Islander communities

8. International Institute of the East Bay – Oakland

• this agency does a lot of self-petitions for immigrant battered women under the Violence Against Women Act, and U Visas, so you would have a lot of client contact and get to assemble evidence and write the petitions, though probably no court work

9. Centro Legal de la Raza – Oakland

• you must speak Spanish. Lots of self-petitions under VAWA and U visas, lots of client contact, also community education and outreach if you want to do these. This is a new placement.

10. Law offices of Nancy Hormachea - Berkeley

• Ms. Hormachea is a very experienced attorney in the area of immigration, asylum, and related issues. She speaks Farsi, and does a lot of work with the Afghan community and other communities in the Middle East. This is a new placement.

Criminal Settings

11. Free Battered Women and The Ca. Habeas Project – San Francisco

• works on helping battered women in prison; can include visiting women in the 2 Chowchilla prisons; your direct supervisors would be Andrea Bible or Marisa Gonzales (x 309)

12. District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Unit - San Francisco

• there is almost no client contact, but lots of seeing what prosecutors really do and assisting them; you really should have taken Criminal Procedure before doing this placement

13. District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Unit – Oakland

• there is a little client contact, and lots of seeing what prosecutors really do and assisting them, including research and possibly representing the People at preliminary examinations; you really should have taken Criminal Procedure before doing this placement           

Policy Work
           
14. Intern with Nancy Lemon, working on policy issues such as amicus briefs, background research on pending legislation, etc.

Some of the work is with the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, the state domestic violence coalition

• you would not need to be certified as you would not be representing clients. You would be doing research on legislative proposals and other policy work, and attending meetings, writing briefs, etc.

Other Placements

In the past, students have also been placed with particular sole practitioners who specialize in domestic violence issues. A part time clerkship with a judge whose docket includes a majority of such cases is also a possibility. If there is another placement where you would like to work, please talk to me and we will attempt to arrange it.

General Information:

You need to average 11-15 hours per week at the internship, including both seeing clients and going to court. You receive 1 unit for each 4 hours you do weekly, for a total of 3, 4 or 5 units.

I will also meet with you and the other interns one hour per week, whenever is convenient for all of us. So the total time commitment is 12-20 hrs per week.

After you figure out a potential schedule and placement, please call or email me, then the supervisor at the above numbers so you can arrange to be interviewed by the supervisor, in person or on the phone. Some placements want a resume too.

Getting Certified:

Need for Certification: If you’d like to represent clients in court, you need to be certified to represent clients at hearings. To do this, you must have taken or be taking Evidence. The Boalt Dean of Students will not sign your certification form until the semester in which you are taking Evidence begins.

For other legal settings, you may not need to be certified, so do not need to have taken Evidence. You may want to be certified in case you get a chance to argue in court, but this is not required.

Process: There are 3 separate forms, to be submitted together with your check.

A Student's Application
A Declaration by Supervising Attorney
A Declaration by Dean of Law School
A $55 Non-refundable Application Fee, made payable to the State Bar of Ca.

Print the forms -- On www.calbar.ca.gov you go to Home > Attorney Resources > Special > Services > Practical Training of Law Students > Forms, and print the forms. Fill them out and ask the supervising attorney at your placement and the Boalt Dean of Students to sign. File the package with the State Bar in SF as soon as possible.

I recommend putting an end date of May or June, even if you are doing the clinic in the fall, in case you decide to stay on for a second semester.

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