Family Law
Willkie has a longstanding commitment to providing pro bono legal services to low-income individuals and those living in poverty requiring assistance with uncontested and litigated divorces, protective orders, child support and child custody.
Willkie regularly handles uncontested and litigated divorces for clients referred to Willkie by Her Justice both through the externship and directly at the firm. Willkie also handles family law matters through our partnerships with the Children’s Law Center and Sanctuary For Families. To help domestic violence survivors obtain protective orders, Willkie attorneys and summer law clerks work with the Domestic Violence Law Unit of the New York Legal Assistance Group, Sanctuary for Families’ Courtroom Advocates Project, Survivor Justice Center’s California Legal Access for Survivors Project (CLASP), and others.
Advancing the Interests of Children in Foster Care
Willkie regularly partners with the Alliance for Children’s Rights to facilitate the adoption of foster children in the Los Angeles area into loving families. Willkie teams draft and file adoption papers and appear in court to secure final adoption orders.
Willkie conducted nationwide research and compiled a handbook addressing the “foster care-to-prison pipeline” for the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice to raise awareness and seek protections for children involved in both the foster care and juvenile justice systems.
Willkie also partners with A Better Childhood, a nonprofit that works to reform child welfare systems nationwide through class action litigation to protect and advance the rights of children in foster care.