A who’s who of Bay Area law firms—Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Wilmer Hale, Jones Day, and nearly two dozen more—are banding together to raise money for victims of domestic violence. Rock and soul groups from seven firms and Google will compete in the Battle of the Bands on June 13 in San Francisco. The proceeds will fund appeals for survivors involved in custody disputes.

The event is the brainchild of the Family Violence Appellate Project (FVAP), a legal advocacy group formed just one year ago by Chancellor’s Awards winners Sonya Passi ’13 and Alex Scott ’13. Its core mission is to mobilize appellate representation in domestic violence cases and to ensure the safety of survivors and their children.

Passi modeled the competition on a similar event held annually by Kirkland & Ellis in D.C. to raise money for the homeless.

“What’s genius about the concept is that it plays on the natural competitiveness of lawyers, especially in such a tight-knit legal community,” Passi said. “Bands are taking the voting very seriously, and several of the bands are rehearsing weekly.”

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