THE UNCONTESTED DIVORCE PROJECT
Sanctuary for Families serves domestic violence and trafficking victims from diverse backgrounds who are seeking a life free from abuse and exploitation. Our clients come to us with differing strengths, goals, and barriers. In addition to legal services, many client can benefit from counseling, shelter, financial assistance, and economic empowerment. Many of our clients experience the effects of trauma as a result of the abuse they have endured, as well as the intersecting forms of oppression they may continue to experience. Some of our client have limited English proficiency and a lack of knowledge of New York’s courts, which makes navigating the legal system a challenge.
Sanctuary assists clients with legal matters including family law, immigration, landlord-tenant, and public benefits legal advocacy. We recognize that divorcing an abusive spouse can be one of the most liberating moments for a survivor of domestic violence. For many clients, divorce allows them to reclaim their identity and autonomy as well as empowering them by severing their remaining ties to their abusers. The contribution of law students participating in the Uncontested Divorce Project enhances our capacity to meet the overwhelming demand for help. We are fortunate to work with law students from five excellent law schools in New York City through this project. We enjoy training and mentoring students who are committed to learning and serving the public interest. We hope to that this experience will be a rewarding part of your law school career. We invite you to embrace the opportunity to assist survivors on their journey to safety, autonomy, and freedom from abuse. |
Project Statistics
We currently work with five law schools in the City of New York: Fordham Law School, Columbia Law School, NYU Law School, Brooklyn Law School, and Cardozo Law School. We have 6 dedicated student coordinators in these five law schools to recruit participants and facilitate the project management.
What our student participants said about their experience:
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Frequently Asked Questions
Case Placement
Do law students work throughout the entire academic year for this project? It depends. Some law students will be able to complete the cases within 5-6 months. Some other cases may require longer involvement. Serving the defendant with the divorce papers may take longer than expected. On average, law students will log approximately 15 to 20 hours for their involvement in the Uncontested Divorce Project. What does an Uncontested Divorce mean? An uncontested divorce is generally when both parties agree to get divorced and they do not have any issues other than "getting divorced," or when both parties agree on all the issues or have resolved all the issues through having obtained family court orders, or when the Defendant fails to respond after being served and defaults in the divorce. Will clients need to pay for the uncontested divorce? The Uncontested Divorce Project provides legal services to our clients free of charge in relation to legal representation. However, depending on each client's financial circumstances, the client may be eligible for a waiver of Court fees or the client may be required to pay the filing fees required by the Court for the uncontested divorce case, and/or costs for service of process. The filing fees are currently $335 ($210 for the initial papers and $125 for the final papers) for an uncontested divorce case. If the client is eligible, Sanctuary will make an application to request that the Court waive the filing fees. Safety Where do clients and students meet? Students are asked to reserve a private room at either their law school or at Sanctuary for Families' confidential location for their initial interview meeting with the clients. Students and clients will then meet with the Attorney together at Sanctuary for Families. Will a client ever be at risk during the divorce? Clients are screened before being placed with the Uncontested Divorce Project. Safety concerns are addressed at the screening process and will continue to be addressed throughout the process. The Supervising Attorney will provide guidance to address client's physical safety, information privacy, and other legal/non-legal needs. |
Lauren Patel, Esq.
Senior Staff Attorney, Matrimonial/Economic Justice Project Melissa Morillo
Project Assistant, Matrimonial/Economic Justice Project For Current Uncontested Divorce Project Participants
Interested?The application deadline for the 2024 Spring UDP semester is January 29, 2024 at 5pm.
Please direct any semester inquiries to Melissa Morillo at [email protected]
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