We believe no one should endure abuse. We ensure the safety and well-being of survivors of gender-based abuse, including domestic violence, and their children by helping them obtain effective appellate representation.
We believe no one should endure abuse. We ensure the safety and well-being of survivors of gender-based abuse, including domestic violence, and their children by helping them obtain effective appellate representation.
Appellate Courts: Our main program ensures domestic violence laws keep survivors and children safe, by: representing survivors in appeals for free; filing amicus (friend-of- the-court) briefs in cases of statewide importance; and requesting publication of unpublished cases to create binding legal precedent that benefits survivors statewide in California.
Legal Support: We provide free training, legal support and technical assistance to shelters, domestic violence advocates, and attorneys representing survivors in trial court, including self-help legal tools and online training videos. This program bridges domestic violence and legal communities by training court personnel and attorneys on domestic violence issues, while training advocates on legal issues.
Housing Safety & Justice: We provide free on-call legal assistance and trainings to domestic violence advocates and attorneys representing survivors with housing issues in California. The Housing Safety and Justice program bridges the gap between legal service providers and domestic violence advocates who are assisting survivors to secure and maintain safe housing and employment.
Lifeline to Justice: A writ petition is an emergency request for the appellate court to intervene in a case and command the trial court to either do something or stop doing something that’s legally erroneous and harmful. The Lifeline to Justice program helps survivors file emergency writ petitions, building on FVAP’s existing models of direct representation, community collaboration and education, and free resources. The program empowers survivors to pursue writ petitions confidently and provides access across California
Next Generation: FVAP was co-founded by law students. We know students and young attorneys have the power and creativity to create real, systems-level change. We consistently work to cultivate the next generation of passionate domestic violence advocates.
We are seeking mission-driven leaders with expertise in finance, public health, or the technology sector, and with strong Southern California networks to help strengthen our reach across the state to advance equal access to justice for survivors.
This Is the Moment. Join FVAP’s Board.
Fourteen years ago, a group of UC Berkeley law students saw something the legal system had largely ignored: survivors of domestic violence were not challenging dangerous trial court decisions – not because they were wrong, but because there weren’t many fighting for them at that level. They built FVAP to change that. Today, we are the only nonprofit in California exclusively dedicated to free appellate legal representation for survivors of intimate partner, family, and gender-based violence.
The impact compounds in ways that are hard to overstate. Every case we win doesn’t just change one life — it becomes California law. Our 80+ published decisions shape how trial courts across the state treat survivors and their children. Each ruling reaches an estimated 237,000 cases annually. We are not just a legal aid organization. We are a law-making engine for survivors. And we are at an inflection point.
FVAP has been refining strategy, and growing ambitious programs – including our Lifeline to Justice Program, the first of its kind in the nation to our knowledge, giving survivors access to emergency writ petitions that can deliver justice in weeks rather than the 500-day average appeal timeline. Our Housing Safety & Justice program is filling gaps between legal aid and traditional DV services for survivors’ housing rights statewide. The organization is lean, but focused, and ready to scale.
What we need now is a board that matches that energy. We are actively recruiting directors who want to do more than attend meetings – people who will open doors, champion FVAP in their professional and philanthropic networks, and help us build the unrestricted funding base that makes everything else possible. If you have ever wanted your board service to matter at a systems level – to be part of something that changes the law, not just delivers a service — this is that opportunity.