Domestic Violence Litigation Clinic

Prerequisite or Corequisite: Evidence or Trial Advocacy – Criminal or Trial Advocacy-Concentrated Civil or Trial Advocacy- Concentrated Criminal

St. John's University School of Law is partnering with the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) to provide students with an exciting, well-supervised, hands-on clinical experience. Clinic students, working in pairs, represent clients in family offense and visitation matters in the Queens and Manhattan family courts. Students have the opportunity to handle cases from inception to final disposition, including conducting client interviews, seeking orders of protection, negotiating settlements, making all court appearances, and, where indicated, taking the case to trial.

Clinic students enroll in the domestic violence clinic placement and in a two-credit seminar component which meets at the law school. The seminar provides clinic students with substantive knowledge in aspects of family, matrimonial, immigration, and criminal law relevant to the practice portion of the course.

In addition, students will be introduced to the integration of law and psychology specific to intimate violence and participate in skills classes in interviewing, safety planning, case preparation, evidence gathering, legal writing, trial advocacy and
negotiation skills. This two-semester course maximizes each student's opportunity to fully service each client while maintaining continuous client representation on sensitive legal matters. Students spend approximately 12 – 15 hours a week in court or preparing their cases at the NYLAG clinic office. Students will receive 4 credits per semester, 2 pass-fail credits and 2 letter-graded credits. Students will be chosen based upon an interview with the professor. Evidence and a trial advocacy course are pre- or corequisite courses and interested students are strongly urged to take Family Law and Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

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