The DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP) is seeking volunteers to represent domestic violence victims in Civil Protection Order cases at DC Superior Court. For those interested, DCVLP will be hosting the following training on October 6th.

In DCVLP's Civil Protection Order (CPO) practice area, volunteers help domestic violence survivors find immediate safety from their abusers through a CPO, or "stay-away" order. These cases provide supervised in-court litigation experience in a short time frame, with each case lasting just 8-12 days on average; the time commitment of each case is about 10-15 hours. Volunteers may sign up far in advance to represent a client on a certain hearing date, allowing busy attorneys to predict when they will need to be in court.

This training program provides an overview of the process for obtaining a CPO on behalf of DV survivors. Topics include: dynamics of DV, the Intra-Family Offenses Act, interviewing clients, obtaining evidence, and handling contested hearings.

To RSVP, or with questions, please email Emilia Plater-Zyberk at eplaterzyberk@dcvlp.org.