Domestic and Sexual Violence Law Clinic

Since its opening in 1999, the Domestic and Sexual Violence Law Clinic (formerly the Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic) has provided free legal representation to victims of domestic violence with legal matters in Yolo County. Every day, the Clinic changes lives by obtaining restraining orders, divorce and custody orders, and the financial support necessary to allow clients to go on with their lives.

Before beginning their work in the Clinic, students first attend an intensive weekend training session in domestic violence followed by weekly seminars on family law, ethics, pre-trial skills, domestic violence, and other substantive areas of the law. Students then represent clients who are mostly poor and working women in cases of child custody and visitation, child support, dissolutions, property division, and other family law matters.

Hon. Donna M. Petre, a Yolo County Superior Court Judge, has noted, “The Clinic, its attorneys, and interns provide a level of consistency and thoroughness required by some of the more complex cases. Victims and their families receive the dual benefit of intensive, thorough representation by competent counsel and at no cost.”

In recent years, Clinic students have tackled a modern-day legal problem: harassment on the Internet. With cyber bullying and sexting on the rise, students are producing educational materials and delivering presentations on the cutting-edge legal issues surrounding cyber bullying, sexting, and sextortion.