Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic

In the Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic (FVWRC), students work towards attaining justice and safety for survivors of family violence.

About the Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic

Serving the unmet needs of local survivors in Western New York, the Family Violence & Women's Right Clinic seeks to fill the gap to ensure victims of violence receive the proper legal representation needed in many areas of the law, including family offense petitions, child support, custody, and visitation cases, and divorce.

Meet the Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic Director

Headshot of Judith Olin.

Judith Olin

Director of Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic

Clinical Legal Education

507 O'Brian Hall

Phone: 716-645-2167

Email: judyolin@buffalo.edu

Our Work

Clinic History Student Engagement Current Projects News & Presentations

Historically, Clinic students have engaged in community legally oriented training for groups of professionals in the domestic violence field and others.  For many years, FVWRC students have trained students at area high schools in a Clinic-created teen dating violence prevention program.  

Every semester, clinic students and faculty deliver trainings to new police recruits at the Erie County Central Police Services Training Academy on civil domestic violence legal issues.  Clinic students and faculty regularly deliver petition drafting trainings to domestic violence advocates at non-profit agencies throughout Erie County. 

Since 2015, student attorneys have delivered Teen Dating Violence Prevention trainings to students at public and private high schools in Western New York. 

Since 2021, student attorneys and clinic faculty have regularly met with attorneys and advocates to discuss systemic problems faced by domestic violence survivors in order to develop strategies to improve systemic response.

In 2023-2024 student attorneys developed a presentation on Extreme Risk Protection Orders, (ERPOS,) which can be used to immediately remove guns from a dangerous person. FVWRC students also developed a presentation on technology safety for DV survivors. Both presentations were given at the Erie County Coalition Against Family Violence and other groups. The ERPO presentation has been updated and will be provided at the community trainings in Fall 2025. 

In 2023, student attorneys began planning a project geared towards assisting low- income individuals seeking a divorce who do not have access to an attorney. The Clinic finalized a Memorandum of Understanding with Neighborhood Legal Services to jointly develop this important program which will help create access to justice for those unable to get divorced because they cannot afford an attorney, and/or are unable to access free legal services. Clinic students and NLS attorneys delivered two community presentations in the fall of 2024 and the spring of 2025,  which provided information and forms to assist pro se litigants with uncontested divorce cases. 

In 2024, the Clinic developed a partnership with the University at Buffalo Police about assisting with detecting and removing stalking-type tracking devices on clients' vehicles. The Clinic purchased equipment for the University Police who are now able to perform screenings on the cars of clients who suspect they are being tracked by their abusive partners.

Memorandum and Reports

Make a Gift

  • Family Violence and Women's Rights Clinic Crossroads Fund
    11/20/24
    For more than 30 years, the Family Violence and Women's Rights Clinic has fought for justice for victims of violence throughout Western New York and provided crucial, hands-on experience to law students. The Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic Crossroads Fund supports the work of our long-standing clinic by offsetting operational expenses, allowing the clinic to focus on the unmet needs of local domestic violence survivors. 
  • Dr. Isabel S. Marcus Fund for the Domestic Violence Clinic
    11/20/24
    To honor the incredible legacy of Dr. Marcus, a renowned professor and advocate for human rights and gender equality who passed away in 2021, the Dr. Isabel S. Marcus Fund for the Domestic Violence Clinic was established. Dr. Isabel S. Marcus joined the faculty at the University of Buffalo (UB) School of Law in 1982. She spent 35 years teaching and conducting research on a range of issues, including labor and family law, women's rights, and gender equality. In 1997, she co-founded the Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender (now the Gender Institute) and served as chair of the Women's Studies program at UB. In addition to her academic achievements, Dr. Marcus received two Fulbright Scholar Awards and was named an International Scholar by the Open Society Foundation's Institute for Higher Education Support Program in Eastern Europe.
  • Women, Children, and Social Justice Awards Endowment Fund
    11/20/24
    The alumni and friends of the School of Law launched a $100,000 fundraising initiative that will further the mission of the Law School's Women, Children, and Social Justice Clinic, and honor the two women who started it, Clinical Professor Emeritus Suzanne E. Tomkins '92, co-director of the Program for Excellence in Family Law, and Catherine Cerulli '92, director of the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership at the University of Rochester.

The Family Violence & Women’s Rights Clinic is proudly funded partially by the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and generous donors of the FVWRC.

Upcoming Events

Judith Olin and Student Attorney Shelby Majda '24.

Professor Judith Olin and Student Attorney Shelby Majda '24 at the Tribute Garden.

Saturday, September 27, 2025 - 10th Anniversary of the Tribute Garden

Join the ECCSW to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Tribute Garden at Isle View Park. The ceremony will occur on Saturday, September 27, 2025, from 10am to 11:30am. The Tribute Garden was created to honor those impacted by domestic violence and to serve as a gathering place to reflect, share, and learn about the resources available to victims, survivors, and the community to stop violence. Please RSVP to Karen King by September 5, 2025 at karen.king@erie.gov

UB Stadium.

Saturday, October 25, 2025 - Domestic Violence Awareness Month at UB Bulls Game

On Saturday, October 25, 2025, student attorneys will be attending the UB Bulls home football game to promote Domestic Violence Awareness Month.