Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, September 2003 (Vol. 32, No. 1)

SPOTLIGHT

Student Was Driving Force Behind Violence Against Women Symposium

One morning last spring, Linda Leavitt stood outside a room filled with students, lawyers, and professors. A local expert in domestic violence was with her, feeling intimidated by the crowd that was about to hear their presentation, the first in a six-week symposium at Lewis and Clark School of Law about violence against women. Leavitt hugged her and said, "Just remember, you have more experience in this than anyone here. This isn't being taught in law schools."

It took Leavitt, then a second-year student at Lewis and Clark in Portland, Ore., about five months to organize the event. The symposium featured local, national, and international experts in legal advocacy surrounding domestic violence and sexual assault.

"I originally wanted to create a day-long symposium, mostly out of my frustration that it wasn't being taught in our school," Leavitt says. "But once the idea was out there it just gained a life of its own."

Leavitt says violence against women affects all areas of law, not just criminal and family law, but for some reason it's usually overlooked in substantive law courses. "Essentially, we were having to go online to find information," she says. "One day I decided, if they're not going to teach this in my family law class, then I'm going to find people to teach it here on campus."
Leavitt started by enlisting the help of several student organizations, including the local ACLU chapter. Before long she also convinced several faculty members to help. By the time the symposium began, the Oregon Bar Association offered continuing education credits for lawyers in attendance. "All the energy, hard work, and ideas that people brought to it was amazing," she says.

Student Lawyer magazine also played a role in the process when Leavitt came across an article about domestic violence and ABA advocacy that appeared in the December 2002 issue. "We read the article and felt, wow, we're part of a national movement! We had copies of it for students who came to the initial meetings and passed it around to faculty members when we were asking for their help with the symposium," she says.

At one time Leavitt contacted Sarah Buel, a professor at the University of Texas who was mentioned in the article, and asked her for advice. "Sarah is truly an inspiration to me," Leavitt says. "She actually sent me an unpublished article of hers about domestic violence. There are a lot of good professors out there, but she really takes the cake."

Leavitt, a mother of three and herself a survivor of domestic violence, also was greatly influenced by her daughter. "I looked at her once and told her, 'I'll keep you safe,' but then realized that I can't," she says. "I don't want any child or woman to experience violence. But people, including the legal system, look the other way. I feel a strong responsibility to change that."

According to Leavitt, this change should begin in law school. A petition was passed around at the symposium requesting that issues regarding violence against women be included in substantive law courses at Lewis and Clark. "Several recent studies have shown that abuse is reported by 45 to 55 percent of divorcing women," Leavitt says. "But even if attorneys don't work in family law, they need to have the sensitivity to recognize what's going on with their clients. How can an attorney ethically help a couple even draw up a will if they're experiencing domestic violence?"

Martha Spence, Lewis and Clark's associate dean of academic affairs, helped Leavitt with the symposium. "Having a student like Linda makes it better for everybody," she says. "She and the other students really put this together. I can't wait to see what she's going to do next." o

Kenneth Gorton

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