By Jane Warring, AVLF Junior Board Member
Two months ago, AVLF’s Domestic Violence Team - Liz Whipple,
along with Lindsey Siegel and Jessica Caldas - visited the Atlanta office of
Robins, Kaplan, Miller, & Ciresi, LLP—a law firm specializing in IP,
business, and insurance litigation—to train partners, associates, paralegals,
and staff members to take temporary protective order cases. The AVLF Team explained that the advocate
fills three main roles: First, the
advocate works with the victim to determine his/her goals and needs, including
needs related to protection, child custody, divisions of property and financial
issues. Second, the advocate organizes
the victim’s evidence so his/her story can be quickly and effectively relayed
to the Court. Third, the advocate
negotiates with the respondent to obtain an order by consent or, if the
respondent does not consent, presents the evidence to the judge to obtain an
order directly from the Court. Since
this training session, RKMC has worked with over fifteen clients, and attorneys
are taking new cases every week.
I have taken four cases since the training. From a volunteer perspective, these are
perfect pro bono cases. The clients have
a true, immediate need, the evidence is overwhelmingly in your favor, and the
matter generally takes less than one week from start to finish.
“Although many of these cases share the same basic formula
in the courtroom, the unique facts of each petitioner’s situation provides the
opportunity for volunteers to think and work creatively,” says RKMC associate
Brandon Arnold. Brandon Arnold and Eric
Swartz have dealt with child visitation and support issues in their cases. In granting protective orders, the law gives
the court discretion to order specific visitation and support arrangements
agreed to by the parties or requested by one party, provided that the Court
determines that such arrangements are in the child’s “best interest.” As such, where the mother approves of some
visitation rights for the father, the hearing may involve both negotiating
these issues with the respondent and convincing the judge that a particular
arrangement is appropriate.
In addition, volunteers have noticed that these cases
sometimes involve interesting types of evidence, such as text messages or
camera phone photos. RKMC partner Bill
Stanhope recently used a camera phone photo of the respondent with large
amounts of cash to rebut the respondent’s contention that he could not afford
child support. The more relaxed courtroom environment makes presenting these
items easier than in some other courts.
Bill Stanhope says that “the key is to make sure you
understand why the client has gone to court to obtain a temporary order and figure
out how much practical relief the Court can provide given the circumstances and
scope of the law.” In one of Jane
Warring’s cases, the client had been living with the respondent for over 5
years—she paid the rent and he paid the utilities. “When you’re getting the protective order,
you need to think about things like—Do we need to help get her assistance for
the next few months while she adapts to paying rent and utilities? The goal is to send these victims out into
the world with legal protection, but also with the ability to start over and
break from an abusive past,” says Jane Warring.
In the end, these cases keep RKMC attorneys, and volunteer
attorneys around Atlanta, coming back for more.
“The volunteer experience is both exciting and gratifying. You are able to assist clients with immediate
personal needs and provide them with a means to protect themselves both
emotionally and physically, all while gaining practical legal experience. It is truly a win-win situation!” says RKMC
associate Elizabeth Thomas, who has assisted four clients obtain 12-month
protective orders.
Email Jessica Caldas at jcaldas@avlf.org if you are interested in volunteering.
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