OVERVIEW OF DV LEAD  

The Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project (DV LEAD), formerly the Family Mentor Program: 

• represents survivors of domestic violence through staff and volunteer attorneys in domestic violence protection order cases and family law cases,  
• advocates for policies to support survivors, and  
• ​enforces laws protecting survivors through the court process. 

WHO WE SERVE 
DV LEAD assists domestic violence survivors who have a low income in domestic violence protection order cases and contested family law cases where children are at risk because of domestic violence or where survivors have additional barriers to accessing the court system. 

WHAT WE DO 
DV LEAD provides direct representation in domestic violence protection order cases and family law cases through staff and volunteer attorneys. We prioritize cases where children are at risk because of domestic violence. We also prioritize cases where survivors have additional barriers to accessing the court system.

HOW TO GET CONNECTED:
Due to high demand, DV LEAD is currently only able to consider cases that are referred to our program by domestic violence advocates.

POTENTIAL CLIENTS
If you are a survivor of domestic violence and you are trying to get connected to an advocate, you can reach out to the DV Hopeline 24/7 at 206-737-0242. You can also get more information about all of the domestic violence service organizations in King County at DVHopeline.org. You can reach out to many of those organizations directly to inquire about getting an advocate as well.

If you are in need of assistance to file for an emergency protection order, contact the Protection Order Advocacy Program. Advocates are available in person at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent and the King County Courthouse in Seattle. For advocates at the Kent Courthouse, you can call 206-477-3758, and for advocates in Seattle, you can call 206-477-1103.

ADVOCATES 
If you are an advocate and would like to refer a client to DV LEAD, please send conflict information including client and opposing party’s name and date of birth to the DV LEAD Team (callistal@kcba.org). The team will respond with our intake paperwork to fill out if you do not have it already. Please work with the client to identify their desired outcome or legal goal (i.e. obtaining a DVPO, a parenting plan, etc.) and work with them to gather all related paperwork. The more information we have, the more quickly we will be able to let you and your client know whether or not we will be able to accept the case.

Please note that we are not able to accept every case that is referred to our team.