Joan Meier
Joan Meier
Professor of Clinical Law, Director of Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project, GW Law School
Over the past 23 years Joan Meier has taught three different domestic violence clinics at the law school, involving direct representation of survivors in civil court, emergency responses in the medical setting, and student fieldwork in a wide range of community DV organizations. Ten years ago Joan launched the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP), which specializes in appellate advocacy on behalf of adult and child victims of abuse. DV LEAP spearheads domestic violence advocacy in the Supreme Court, as well as advocating for victims in state courts of appeal. They also train judges, lawyers, mental health professionals, and others on best practices in domestic violence and child abuse cases. Joan Meier's scholarship has ranged from articles on domestic violence and welfare reform and constitutional criminal procedure, to custody and abuse and the many forms of quasi-scientific denial of abuse in the justice system, and the mis-use of labels and categories in responding to domestic violence.