The Family Violence Clinic at the University of Missouri is set to reopen its doors in January 2024. It is a safe haven for low-income victims of violence as well as a place for law students to gain experience to begin a career as an attorney.
“(It’s) taught by the professor at the Law School who, along with students, represent victims of abuse,” according to Paul Litton, dean of the MU School of Law. “They help them secure protective orders and then, in the past at least, they’ve done some other work helping with adoptions, helping with parents who are dying and trying to figure out how to secure their children’s future.”
The clinic closed in 2020 due to a combination of a retirement and a hiring freeze from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Litton explained that the funding to reopen the clinic is coming from the state, but that he also expects to raise money through fundraising and applying for grants.
“The state funding is certainly helping us kick that off, but once we kick it off, that’s going to help us in other ways in terms of both applying for grants and also in fundraising,” said Litton. “We’ll be in a much better position now to seek grant funding and to seek philanthropic support with its doors open.”
A search is underway for a clinical professor to direct the clinic upon its reopening. If you’re a bar-certified attorney who also teaches, and you’re looking for a job, the University of Missouri might be a consideration.
“We’re going to advertise in the appropriate publications around the state that lawyers read such as in bar journals,” according to Litton. “We’re going to advertise with the Association of American Law Schools, which is the main academic organization for law schools that help law schools recruit professors. Then, once we receive applications and CVs, we’ll contact our strong applicants and start the interview process.”
The clinic initially opened in 1993.
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