The Clinic for Women, Children, & Social Justice

The clinic is committed to preventing domestic violence and promoting the legal rights of victims of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence, including women, children, the elderly, and same-sex partners.

Students and faculty of the clinic seek justice and provide legal resources for people on the margins of our society: the homeless, the impoverished and economically disadvantaged, immigrants, and the disabled.

The clinic has two main objectives:

• To teach law students to become effective legal professionals that effectively deal with domestic violence victims; and,


• To serve as a resource throughout the region, the state, and beyond.

Teaching

Through placements in a civil law, criminal law, or community based setting, law students have a unique opportunity to address all aspects of the legal system's response to domestic violence. Students are immersed in the complexities of legal, social, and medical issues that clients face, and the clinic provides students with the tools to meet these challenges.

Students use what they learn in an interdisciplinary setting to inform public policy initiatives and legislative proposals. They may also choose clinical work designed to address the overlapping problems faced by women in poverty, many of whom are survivors of domestic violence and domestic abuse. [Read More]

Community Resource

To enhance the community's work to end domestic violence, the clinic offers training, research, and resource materials. It also hosts forums linking the Law School to local, national, and international scholars, practitioners, and advocates. These forums gather policymakers, service providers, attorneys, and students to discuss current models of practice and research initiatives that can better help those affected by domestic abuse.
[Read More]

Faculty

Suzanne E. Tomkins, Director of the Clinic
Remla Parthasarathy, Clinic Instructor

The Clinic is funded in part by a grant administered by the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (NYS DCJS). Points of view in this website are those of the Clinic and do not necessarily represent the official position of NYS DCJS.