Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, October 2003 (Vol. 32, No. 2). All rights reserved.

Report Describes How Law Schools Tackle Domestic Violence Issues

by Donna J. Mathews

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Did you know that lawyers can play a crucial role in treating this widespread problem? In fact, you can begin in law school.

The ABA Commission on Domestic Violence has completed a report on domestic violence awareness and education in the nation's law schools. It's a topic that Student Lawyer reported on last year ("Defending Their Lives," December 2002) and last month ("Spotlight: Student Was Driving Force Behind Violence Against Women Symposium," September 2003).

In recent years, the commission conducted conferences in which teams from many law schools across the country participated. As a result of these conferences, plans evolved to help law schools weave more materials about domestic violence into their curriculums.

The conferences and the commission report, Teach Your Students Well: Incorporating Domestic Violence Into Law School Curricula, A Law School Report, reveal that student interest and activity are major factors in whether or not a law school adds or increases coverage of domestic violence issues in its curriculum.

The report includes hypothetical classroom questions and other curriculum suggestions aimed at incorporating domestic violence awareness into topics typically covered in law schools. A professor who wants to add a domestic violence component to his or her classroom discussion can access teaching tools on a variety of subjects, including contracts, property, torts, professional responsibility, evidence, criminal law, and many more. The report also includes sample syllabuses and paper topics, as well as curricular resources and national and state resources.

Many additional resources are available at the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence's web site (www.abanet.org/domviol), which provides links to valuable information worldwide about domestic violence, its treatment, and prevention.

The commission offers legal training materials on many aspects of domestic violence. Outlines from prior commission-sponsored conferences are available at the commission's web site. For further information, feel free to e-mail me at mathewsd@staff.abanet.org or call 202-662-1021.

Donna J. Mathews is assistant director of the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence.