| Started by a small group of WBA members in 1995, the Family Law Project (FLP) continues to be the largest pro bono program at the Women’s Bar Foundation, drawing 70-80 new attorneys each year. The FLP recruits, trains, and mentors attorneys and collaborates with legal and social services to provide high quality representation and assistance to victims of domestic violence. In the past 12 months, the FLP has fielded nearly 1,500 phone calls from victims of domestic violence, and has conducted more than 100 interviews.
Our goals are to prevent further abuse, homelessness, loss of child custody, and to decrease repeated court hearings. The FLP is designed to meet the legal needs of the underserved in the legal services community who have already been denied representation by a legal services agency and who might otherwise ‘fall through the cracks.’ About half of the individuals served by the FLP are indigent, according to federal poverty guidelines; the remaining individuals we serve are low income. |
1995, the FLP won the R.O.S.E. Fund’s Distinguished Service Award
In 2003, the Women’s Bar Foundation received a Supreme Judicial Court Adams Pro Bono Publico Award for distinguished service and outstanding commitment
In 2004, the FLP received the Public Service Award from the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations. We are very grateful for the continued support of the bench and bar. |