It is almost certain that during their careers, all attorneys will– either knowingly or unknowingly–work with someone victimized by or someone accused of Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence (DV) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Since millions of people in the U.S. report being victimized by DV and GBV each year, the legal needs of victim- survivors are as diverse as our population.
The need for our students’ work on the pervasive legal issues facing survivors & agencies that provide them services is higher than ever. Through this Practicum, students gain real-time training and experience in various issues at the intersection of law and various asymmetries: gender, race, immigration, state’s rights, policing, restorative justice, and more.
The 2-unit Practicum is accompanied by a 1-unit classroom seminar taught by Mallika Kaur. JD and LLM students are welcome to reach out with questions about possible projects, which will be solidified through summer and Fall 2025, to best respond to real-time needs, in a fast changing landscape.
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“My experience in the Domestic Violence & Gender-Based Violence Practicum was nothing short of transformational. Professor Kaur’s classroom greeted all students with open arms, no matter their identity, background, or career path. In our weekly Seminar meetings, we examined the many roles we fill for–and duties we owe to–our clients, even beyond those we’re prescribed by the ABA. We practiced trauma-centered lawyering …. Each week, my classmates and I shared with one another the highs and lows of our externship experiences, and leaned on each other for support, guidance, and friendship. Working in this realm was immensely challenging mentally and emotionally, but having a space such as this classroom where I could share openly and vulnerably made carrying the weight far less taxing. The DVGBVP helped me develop a lawyering style tailored to my core values. In doing so, it shaped me into not only a better advocate, but also a better friend, partner, leader, and member of my communities.” Antonio GutierrezJ.D. Candidate, Class of 2024 |
In the U.S., DV is often reported as the leading cause of unnatural death for women. Heightened danger and lethality in various marginalized communities, including of trans victim-survivors, remain understudied. In U.S. prisons, it is estimated that anywhere from 40-85% of the population serving time in women prisons have been directly impacted by DV. Of mass shootings across the U.S., 2 out of 3 have a connection to DV. In many police precincts across the country, DV is the single largest category of calls to the police. And in the civil space, there is growing new legislation around DV: tort law, labor law, health law, housing law, bankruptcy law, etc., all directly intersect with the needs of DV survivors.
Students join the Practicum to develop first-hand insight to DV and GBV in their chosen legal area as well as benefit from the percolation of ideas and discussions in the seminar, where fellow students will bring their learning (cognitive, emotional, technical, and philosophical) from working on other diverse projects.
The Practicum is open to any student, regardless of past or future goals and experiences.
Potential Practicum 2026 Projects
The needs will shift and the exact projects will be solidified closer to Spring semester 2026. Note: the range of projects include direct client-facing work as well as more removed research work, to account for the diversity of student interest/comfort/career goals.
- Support for Legal Aid Clinics: Student team will work with individual survivors in preparing restraining orders as well as identify and respond to general trends/needs they note in the clinic.
- Legislative Research & Advocacy: The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV) will engage a student team in preparing Committee Review Sheets for the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees considering new legislation to address DV and GBV.
- Criminalized Survivors – Public Defender Collaboration: Students will assist with DV evaluations and advocacy for victim-survivors who are currently defendants (i.e., criminalized defendants)
- Training Support: Students will co-develop training materials and handouts for organizations supporting indigent and immigrant survivors facing heightened legal challenges.
- Brief Bank Development: A DV organization needs student assistance in creating brief banks to help their volunteer family law attorneys efficiently draft pleadings.
- Appellate research and writing: Attorneys at the state’s only family law appellate agency would seek research briefs/assistance with writs as they bring legal challenges that define family law / tort practice in California.
- Amicus Briefs on Migrant Survivors’ Rights: A migrants’ rights group requires support in drafting an amicus brief related to changes in legal remedies for gender-based violence survivors.
- Pregnancy-Related Abuse Case Studies: Students will work with advocates at DV agencies to listen for and lift how pregnancy/contraception/postnatal abuse is domestic violence, often high-lethality risk and yet often under-emphasized.
Please contact mallikakaur@law.berkeley.edu for questions or project proposals.
A Resource Guide for Survivors/Victims and Support Persons of Berkeley Law
THE JIM FAHEY SAFE HOMES FOR WOMEN FELLOWSHIP
The Jim Fahey Safe Homes Fund for Women endowment was established in 2007 to provide scholarships for graduate students at UC Berkeley with demonstrated financial need and a strong aptitude in relevant subjects as well as a deep commitment to combating domestic violence against women. Preference is given to students who are close to graduation, and who have completed coursework on feminist or gender or women’s studies, families, domestic violence, and the like. Undocumented students are eligible to apply for the fellowship. No work authorization required.
