CLINICAL PROGRAMS : BATTERED WOMEN'S ADVOCACY PROGRAM

Duration: One semester clinic
Credits: 4 credits per semester (graded pass/fail)

BWAP is a one semester program offerd in the fall and spring semesters.  Students attend class on Wednesdays 4:00-5:50 p.m. in addition to being placed at a local District Court Legal Services, shelter-based or hospital-based office one day each week. 

Placements are in Suffolk, Middlesex and Norfolk Counties and most are accessible by public transportation.  Students assigned to a District Court work with the victim-witness advocate of the District Attorney’s Office. These student attorneys primarily assist and/or represent in court anyone being victimized by a partner or spouse who is deciding whether or not to request civil abuse prevention orders or whether or not to press criminal charges to enforce such orders.  Students placed at a Legal Services office primarily work with survivors of abuse within the context of family law or abuse prevention cases; they represent indigent clients primarily in local Probate and Family Courts all under the supervision of a family law attorney.  The hospital based programs and shelter based programs work in a variety of ways with survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault. 

In addition to the above-described responsibilities, students are required to attend at least two supervisory meetings with one of the instructors during the course of the semester, to keep a journal on their placement and to maintain case files for all cases handled.