March Membership Meeting and One Hour General Credit CLE

This CLE will be the first step in certification as a Civil-Legal Advocacy Program Attorney. The Civil-Legal Advocacy Program is a collaboration between the Metro Nashville Government Office of Family Safety and the Legal Aid Society to provide free civil legal representation to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking who file petitions for Orders of Protection in Davidson County, TN.  In 2013, Domestic Violence defendants accounted for approximately 20% of all general sessions criminal defendants and domestic violence accounted for 14% of all criminal warrants. Court observations reveal that victims have the assistance of an attorney or law student at the Order of Protection hearing in less than 5% of the cases.  Without the assistance of an attorney, objectionable questions by the offender’s attorney and accusatory statements by the offender are often allowed.  Not only does this place the victim at increased risk of having the Order of Protection dismissed, it leaves many victims feeling powerless and unprotected. The training will introduce attorneys to the basics of domestic violence and the mechanics of Orders of Protection.  After the program, attendees will be invited to submit an application for full certification in the CLA Program.

Speakers:  DarKenya Waller, Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Society; LaToya Townsend, Training & Grant Manager for the Nashville-Davidson County Office of Family Safety, Shaina O. Thompson, Family Law Attorney and Civil Legal Advocacy Program Assistant Director for the Legal Aid Society

	DarKenya Waller
	LaToya Townsend
	Shaina Thompson