Domestic Violence Clinic

Mercer Law’s Domestic Violence Clinic provides students with an opportunity to represent victims in Temporary Protective Orders. Under the supervision of Professor Bonnie Carlson, students are responsible for all aspects of trial preparation litigation.

The DVC is a two-semester, 4-hour graded course and it fulfills the advanced writing requirement and the experiential learning requirement.  During the fall semester, students learn the Georgia law and court rules surrounding the issuance of Temporary Protective Orders, as well as client interviewing and counseling, negotiation, and trial skills. In the spring, students work in pairs to represent clients in Temporary Protective Order cases, starting with initial client interviews, investigating cases, drafting trial documents, and culminating with negotiating a settlement or litigating the case before the Bibb County Superior Court.

The course is open to 2Ls and 3Ls, with priority given to 3Ls. Students must successfully complete Evidence and the Law of Lawyering before the spring semester of the clinic. Students may not simultaneously be enrolled in any other externship.