Trauma-Informed awareness is a critically important factor in successful lawyering. This presentation will give participants an overview of how trauma affects both clients and attorneys. It will also provide practical skills for attorneys in their advocacy work for children and adults who have been the victims of violence. In addition, it will address steps attorneys can take in their own self-care while dealing with trauma in their clients.

Participants will receive an overview of the options that a victim of crime may have after, during or as an alternative to criminal prosecution. The program will identify common civil claims arising out of criminal acts, and will explain the mental and financial benefits of those claims for the victim. Additionally, the CLE will highlight legal traps which occasionally diminish the value of the claims or prevent victims from pursuing such claims altogether.

NCVLI's Meg Garvin and Terry Campos, who combined have 35 years experience in victims' rights, will review key developments and lessons learned in victims' rights from cases decided across the country in 2022. Building on these, they will look ahead and identify how these lessons can inform litigation and policy development in 2023.

Crime victims often require legal advocacy for a multitude of legal needs while seeking justice. Crime victims who are immigrants carry an additional layer of legal considerations. This training will examine unique challenges and opportunities that immigrant crime victims must navigate while interacting with the criminal justice system. During this session, a panel of three presenters will bring their own perspectives as an immigration attorney, prosecutor and advocate to deconstruct real scenarios that illustrate the complexities and diverse systems with which an immigrant crime victim must engage.

People with disabilities are victimized at staggering rates. Despite the disproportionate number of people with disabilities who are crime victims, crimes against them are under-investigated and under-prosecuted. The presenters, drawing from their daily practice, will share concrete examples of the barriers their clients face and articulate strategies for overcoming these. Attendees will learn about how disability rights and crime victims’ rights complement each other; and how to holistically assess the needs of crime victims to ensure that those with disabilities can be best served.