Chapman University School of Law Family Violence Clinic

The Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program (Byrne Discretionary Program) helps local communities improve the capacity of local justice systems and provides for national support efforts. This project is authorized and funded through a line item in the FY 08 Congressional Budget. Funds should be used for purposes recommended by Congress.

The Chapman University School of Law will hire a full-time clinical faculty member who will assist the clinic to increase the number of students providing legal services and the number of victims receiving these critical legal services. They will expand their range of services to include marital dissolution, child custody, and other family law-related issues arising from domestic violence. By adding this component, the clinic will provide more of the legal services needed by domestic violence victims while increasing experiential learning opportunities for students. The Family Violence Clinic will address the needs of those victims of domestic violence who do not go to domestic violence shelters, but still need pro bono legal assistance. They will assist victims with domestic violence-related immigration relief and crime victim immigration relief. The clinic also assists victims with obtaining temporary and permanent orders of protection against abusers.

NCA/NCF