New Staff
Jessica Rundle, CVLAP-DV
We are happy to have Jessica join the CVLAP-DV team. She is working as Staff Attorney in Legal Services of South Central Michigan's Lansing office. Jessica was previously a LSSCM Staff Attorney and Law Clerk with LSEM.
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Departing Staff
Nickie Perera, CVLAP-DV
We want to thank Nickie for all her amazing work with CVLAP-DV out of Legal Services of South Central Michigan's Lansing office. We wish her all the best on her next adventure in Philadelphia.
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New Staff
Chloe Elm, CVLAP-DV
We are happy to have Chloe join the CVLAP-DV team. She will begin September 1st as a Staff Attorney in Michigan Indian Legal Service's Traverse City office. Chloe was previously a Law Clerk with LSSCM as well as MCEDSV.
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Departing Staff
Andrew Jones, CVLAP-Elder
We want to thank Andrew for all his hard work with CVLAP-Elder out of Legal Services of Northern Michigan's Marquette Office. We wish him the best of luck on his next endeavor.
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Job Postings
CVLAP-DV & Elder
CVLAP currently has open staff positions in the following offices: Battle Creek (elder), Alpena (elder), Upper Peninsula (DV). For more information or to share our postings with others go to MAP's application here.
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In the 3rd quarter of 2020 (April - June) CVLAP attorneys assisted 1,009 survivors of domestic violence and/or elder abuse, neglect or exploitation. During this quarter we closed a total of 246 cases. Of the closed cases, we provided extended services to 88 clients. We are incredibly proud of our amazing staff attorneys across the state and want to share some of the good stories (see below) that exemplify the amazing and much needed advocacy that makes this project so vital.
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 Lauren Ykimoff, CVLAP-DV in the Jackson office of Legal Services of South Central Michigan, assisted a client with a divorce from her husband who was controlling and verbally and sexually abusive. The husband would monitor Client by tracking her phone, preventing her from having access to or knowledge about their shared assets and debts and would continuously try to manipulate her into agreeing to financial arrangements that were detrimental to her and beneficial to him. The parties’ primary marital asset was their home, which the husband was residing in because Client had fled to ensure her safety. Laura undertook representation and it became apparent that the valuation of the home was going to be problematic because there was a large discrepancy in the parties estimates of its worth. The parties agreed to have the home appraised but, during the appraiser’s visit, husband made a point of overemphasizing the negative aspects of the home in an attempt to sway the outcome. The appraisal ended up valuing the home very low for the area, which would result in the Client receiving a significantly lower buyout far and fewer funds to rebuild her life. Client, however, did not have the funds to pay for a competing appraisal. Because of the availability of VOCA litigation funds, however, Lauren was able to cover the cost of hiring a second appraiser, whose valuation of the house was significantly higher (and more accurate). Through Lauren's excellent advocacy and the resources afforded to us through VOCA funding, we were better able to serve our Client and obtain a favorable outcome that might otherwise have been impossible given the financial constraints of a low income litigant. |
Jonathan Tabor, CVLAP-Elder in the Holland office of Legal Aid of Western Michigan, assisted a hospitalized older client who was recovering following a fall in her garage three weeks prior. Client had been living in her home for the past sixteen (16) years, handled her own finances, managed her household and wanted to return there upon discharge. Client had a myriad of health issues and, during her hospitalization, her mental health had deteriorated. As a result, the hospital staff began the process of preparing to file for emergency guardianship over the client, to remove her decision-making power and discharge her to a nursing facility, rather than to her home and community. The hospital neuropsychologist interviewed the client three times and each time found that she did not have capacity. Jon undertook representation in an effort to avoid guardianship proceedings that would strip Client of her civil rights and prevent her from returning home. Upon interviewing Client it became clear that she had some mental impairments but that she still possessed a great deal of capacity and awareness and did not appear to be a candidate for institutionalization against her will and a full guardianship. Jon advocated for the hospital to reconsider their opinion regarding client's suitability for discharge home, met with the hospital social worker and reached out to her property manager, neighbor, and pastor to gather evidence supporting the Client's ability to remain in the community. After negotiating with the hospital, it agreed not to pursue guardianship and release the client to her home. Through rigorous advocacy we were able to prevent Client from the consequences of a guardianship and possibly lifelong confinement to a nursing home
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Domestic Violence Update
By Rebecca Shiemke
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The Michigan Legislature is on recess and not scheduled to return until September 1st. Consequently, there has been little progress on any family-law related bills.
The following are bills that remain pending:
SB 70-76 would create an Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Victims could keep their residential address confidential and would be assigned a designate address for all purposes, including legal and court notifications.
There is a package of related, mostly technical House bills (HB 5054-5058) pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee and once those bills are passed, as expected, the full House will take up the entire package. There is broad support for the program in the House and Senate and we are hopeful for passage this year.
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Training & Webinar Opportunities
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Below are links (click on the pictures) to various organizations that provide training opportunities on issues that affect survivors of domestic violence and elder, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
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Domestic Violence Initiative
Rebecca Shiemke - Consulting Attorney
Emily Miller - Managing Attorney
Kathleen Allen - Supervising Attorney
Ruby Robinson - Supervising Attorney
Stephanie Saad - Staff Attorney
Brooke Wilsner - Staff Attorney
Brittany Tucker - Staff Attorney
Linda Kellum - Staff Attorney
Cat Villanueva - Staff Attorney
Sharron Sanders - Staff Attorney
Jessica Topor - Staff Attorney
Marie Nelson - Staff Attorney
Sokainah Mahmutovic - Law Graduate
Ana Kolosova - Staff Attorney
Patricia Mandernach - Law Graduate
Jamila Odeh - Law Graduate
Kendall Dingwall - Staff Attorney
Lauren Ykimoff - Staff Attorney
Christine Burke - Staff Attorney
Jessica Rundle - Staff Attorney
Chloe Elm - Staff Attorney
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Elder Justice Initiative
Alison Hirschel - Consulting Attorney
Emily Miller - Managing Attorney
Kathleen Allen - Supervising Attorney
Nicole Shannon - Systemic Advocacy
Roger West - Staff Attorney
Mireille Phillips - Staff Attorney
Natalie Cherry - Staff Attorney
Brittany Paulk - Staff Attorney
Laura Kubit - Staff Attorney
Kristina Martin - Staff Attorney
Amanda Eicher - Staff Attorney
Toi Dennis - Staff Attorney
Jonathan Tabor - Staff Attorney
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The Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project is funded by a Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (“VOCA”) grant from the Michigan Crime Victims Services Commission of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to the Michigan Advocacy Program.
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