Child Welfare & Domestic Violence
About the Section
Student practitioners in the Child Welfare & Domestic Violence section represent children and adults who are court-appointed or referred as victims of domestic violence and related trauma. Students gain experience providing holistic legal representation by assisting clients with a range of legal needs, including custodial placement, CINC proceedings, protective orders, child custody, child support, divorce, criminal proceeding advocacy, protection of public benefits, and housing (associated with DV). To address these diverse needs, students practice in Juvenile Courts, Civil District Courts, and administrative proceedings. This section also collaborates with public and private agencies to support clients. All legal services are delivered through a trauma-informed approach, and students receive extensive training in trauma’s causes and consequences, as well as trauma-informed lawyering. Students serve as “first chair” in court matters including in hearings and trials.
Meet the Professor
Tim McEvoy joined the Clinic faculty as professor of the Child Welfare & Domestic Violence section in June 2025. Professor McEvoy comes to us from Tulane Law School, where he was an Associate Clinical Professor of Law and the Deputy Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic. Since 2016 Professor McEvoy has trained student attorneys on trauma informed lawyering, as well as IPV and family violence matters through direct instruction on client intake, case strategy, court preparation and trial advocacy skills building. Prof. McEvoy also provides training for social workers, police officers, lawyers and others on Louisiana’s domestic violence and sexual assault laws and trauma informed advocacy. Prof. McEvoy arrived at Tulane after spending five years as a staff attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services in New Orleans. At SLLS, he litigated hundreds of family law matters involving domestic violence in both trial and appellate courts. Prof. McEvoy is a graduate of Pomona College and the Washington College of Law at American University.