Former DV Project Director Recounts Her Four Years with AVLF

By: Jenni Stolarski, former Director of AVLF's Domestic Violence Project is now Chief Assistant Solicitor General, DeKalb County Solicitor's Office

January 20, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Four years ago, AVLF gave me the opportunity to direct the DV Project. At the time, the DV Project was operating out of the One Stop Office, which posed significant challenges to the integrity and safety of client appointments. The Project relied largely on referrals from partner agencies, which resulted in approximately 16 cases being placed during a quarter with pro bono attorneys.

Growing the Project required fundamentally changing the way we did our work, starting with the location in which we did our work. It was not an easy or quick process. I thank Marty Ellin and Dawn Smith for taking that leap of faith and supporting my vision. As a result, in the past four years, the DV Project has experienced exponential growth. Here are some of the more notable highlights:

• In February 2009, we successfully launched the Safe Families Office. A collaborative effort among AVLF, PADV and the Fulton County Superior Court, the Safe Families Office offers legal and safety planning assistance to over 3,000 survivors of intimate partner and family violence each year. AVLF has taken the lead in this endeavor and has assured the continued success of the Safe Families Office. Our model has gained attention on both the local and national levels. Notably, during her July 2010 site visit, the Chief Counsel for the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence described our work at the Safe Families Office as a “model best practices program.” But the highest praise has come from the clients we have served. Time and time again, those victimized have thanked us for helping them to reclaim their lives, their safety, and their sense of self-worth. While our legal work largely involves the civil temporary protective order process, you need only spend some time at the Safe Families Office to understand that our real work is about empowering survivors.

• We have carried our message to the community through various mediums, including articles in the Fulton Daily Report, blogs for our newly revamped website, a public service announcement on the Fulton County Government Access Channel, an appearance on “Victim’s View” (a program hosted by the Fulton County Solicitor-General’s Office), through participation in local and state committees, through numerous community outreach events, and through numerous trainings in the legal community.

• In conducting bi-partisan voter rights clinics at shelters in 2008, we identified a serious problem in Georgia’s Voter Registration requirements, which effectively disenfranchised residents of domestic violence shelters. We used our influence to bring attention to the problem at the state level and lent advice on ways to correct it. As a result, Georgia passed a Voter Address Confidentiality law, which not only creates a safer way for survivors of abuse to exercise their right to vote, but signifies institutional consideration of a population that is so often invisible.

• We have increased our volunteer base and thus our capacity to represent clients. AGG continues to lead the charge, but DLA Piper, Kilpatrick Stockton, Alston + Bird, and Sutherland have followed suit. All have committed to an annual calendar where they commit to taking cases on a regular, rotating basis. In addition to our participating firms, we have a bank of over 200 volunteers who take cases from our electronic newsletter. We now place four times the amount of cases per year with attorneys for direct representation than we did four years ago.

• We have grown our Project Staff to include a dedicated paralegal and staff attorney, without whom the Project could not function. Toni Roberts represents the very best that AVLF has to offer both to our client base and our volunteer base. Her talent, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to excellence are unmatched. Liz Whipple is sharp and enthusiastic. In a relatively short time, she has not only gotten up to speed, but proven herself to be an invaluable member of the team. Additionally, beginning in the Fall of 2011, the DV Project will host a Skadden Fellow, an exciting first for AVLF.

• We have strengthened existing partnerships and grown new ones. We have formalized partnerships with PADV, the Fulton County Superior Court, United 4 Safety, and the member agencies of the Fulton County Domestic Violence Taskforce. Our partners have come to rely upon us as thought leaders in this field and call upon us for assistance and advice.

AVLF is a special place. I remain passionate about its mission and its ability to make a profound impact on individuals and on systems. I thank you for the opportunity to have been a part of your team and hope that I have honored the trust you placed in me. And so, it is with deeply mixed emotions that I prepare to begin a new chapter. I look forward to supporting the continued success of the DV Project and AVLF.

Yours in Service,

Jenni Stolarski