Manatt’s Joanna McCallum, a partner in the firm’s appellate practice, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Family Violence Appellate Project (FVAP).
FVAP is the only nonprofit in California dedicated to helping survivors of domestic violence by appealing dangerous trial court decisions on their behalf, free of cost. By working at the appellate-court level, FVAP pursues cases that not only help individual survivors, but also can become binding legal precedent, helping countless other survivors throughout the state.
Working alongside FVAP on a significant pro bono case last year, McCallum led a successful effort to protect a victim of physical and emotional abuse, obtaining a published decision holding that a family court has jurisdiction to renew a Domestic Violence Restraining Order issued by a juvenile court. The Daily Journal recognized McCallum with a California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year award for her successful argument in this case.
Learn more about this pro bono case here.