Domestic Violence & Gender-Based Violence Practicum
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.
|
“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(opens in a new tab)
THE JIM FAHEY SAFE HOMES FOR WOMEN FELLOWSHIP(opens in a new tab)
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(opens in a new tab). No work authorization required.
Family Defense Project
The purpose of the Family Defense Project (FDP) is to provide advocacy on behalf of low-income parents involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, dependency court proceedings. In particular, Black and Brown parents are at disproportionate risk of being aggressively surveilled and unnecessarily separated from their children by the family regulation system (also known as the child welfare system). The dependency court system is highly discretionary and often conflates poverty with failed parenting, which could be mitigated by adequate provision of social services instead of by separating families. Too often, racism and bias also bleed into dependency court decisions, which leads to less institutional trust of parents of color and a misguided belief by the system that their children are better off in state custody.
Though the family defense movement has strong roots in New York City, similar momentum has yet to receive widespread support in California. FDP’s goals are: (1) to provide interdisciplinary legal services to families caught up in the family policing system in partnership with local organizations; and (2) to support the expansion and evolution of family defense in the Bay Area through policy advocacy and community organizing.
FDP students will have the opportunity to engage in a variety of projects to advance interdisciplinary family defense in partnership with East Bay Family Defenders, a project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. FDP projects for Fall 2025-Spring 2026 are as follows:
(1) Know Your Rights Materials: In partnership with Berkeley Law Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice and Movement for Family Power, students will have the opportunity to research and develop crucial KYR materials for parents and organizers. Potential topics include pregnancy, substance use, and CPS and family court and protests.
(2) Family Court Watch: Dependency and Family Court are closely intertwined, and students will observe family court and document potential issue areas for pro se parents. Members may also develop more accessible resources for parents and families navigating custody issues in family court.
(3) Intakes and client support: Students will conduct non-urgent intakes for East Bay Family Defenders and assist clients with short term tasks. Students may also have the opportunity to assist parents in contesting their placement on the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI).
In addition to these distinct projects, there will be multiple opportunities for students to involve themselves in community organizing and policy advocacy with Reimagine Child
Safety Bay Area and Beyond (RCSBAB), assist clients through the Bar Association of SF’s Dependency Representation Program, and partner with Berkeley’s new family defense clinic once it launches.
FDP’s goal for our 2025-2026 projects is to offer students a range of experiences through which they can build a diverse skill set, from client-facing work to research and writing to community organizing, while substantively learning about a crucial yet often overlooked area of law.
Supervision: Students in FDP provide legal services under the supervision of attorneys from the East Bay Family Defenders, a project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children.(opens in a new tab)
Time Commitment: Time commitment will vary depending on demand and a student’s chosen/assigned project(s). As a baseline, our goal is for students to commit to 20 hours per semester, or 2-3 hours per week.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at familydefense@berkeley.edu.
Reproductive Justice Project
The Reproductive Justice Project advocates for bodily autonomy and the right to choose whether and under what circumstances people have and raise children by supporting reproductive rights groups around the globe.
This year, RJP will be partnering with several organizations committed to advancing reproductive justice. With the continuing state and national attacks on abortion rights and access, we will be assisting organizations that are committed to protecting people’s right and ability to choose. RJP may be partnering with organizations in other areas as well, potentially including workplace protections for pregnant employees, international human rights law, and gender-based violence. Once accepted into the SLP, students will have the opportunity to rank their preferences for which organization and which project they want to work on. Due to the sensitive nature of RJP’s partner organizations’ work, the exact details of each project are highly confidential unless indicated otherwise.
Most projects take the form of proactive policy or education work on the national or state-level. On occasion, there may be opportunities to work on litigation as well. Regardless of the topic, students will engage in research related to policy initiatives, cases, existing regulations, and real-world impacts. Depending on each partner organization’s needs, students will create deliverables such as research spreadsheets, policy recommendations, memoranda, and/or briefs.
Supervision: Students in the Reproductive Justice Project will receive training and supervision from attorneys associated with their individual research projects.
Time Commitment: 15+ hours per semester (minimum 15 hours, option to extend if applicants are interested in long-term projects). Each project has a different cadence, but teams generally have considerable discretion in planning out their work. There are usually three check-in meetings and three deliverable deadlines during the semester, which we do our best to arrange so that they don’t interfere with any big 1L assignments or midterms.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at reproductivejusticeproject@berkeley.edu.