Brittany Tyler

  • Hosted by Bay Area Legal Aid
  • Sponsored by Fenwick & West LLP
  • Service location Oakland, California
  • Law school University of California, Berkeley School of Law
  • Issue area Domestic Violence
  • Fellowship class year 2016
  • Program Design-Your-Own Fellowship

The Project

Through a Medical-Legal Partnership, Brittany provided critical and comprehensive legal services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alameda County’s Highland Hospital.

Alameda County harbors 200,000 people living in poverty, and Highland is their safety net hospital. Nearly 90,000 patients circulate through Highland’s Emergency Department each year, and one-third of its female trauma patients present for DV-related injuries. Providers in the hospital’s non-emergency clinics report a high prevalence of DV as well. While Highland’s staff members often refer these patients out to legal nonprofits, very few victims actually receive legal services.

Fellowship Highlights

In the past two years, Brittany has:

  • Provided full representation to 13 clients, and brief services to 72 individuals;
  • Successfully litigated multi-day trials in family court, obtaining protection and stability for survivors through restraining orders, custody, and visitation;
  • Helped secure immigration status for survivors and their children;
  • Negotiated favorable settlements for clients seeking divorces and increased visitation time with their children;
  • Developed training materials for and trained physicians, resident doctors, nurses, mid-levels, health advocates, social workers, and other attorneys on DV legal issues;
  • Collaborated with local advocacy groups and multi-disciplinary teams to improve interventions to gender-based violence;
  • Represented survivors with criminal convictions, substance abuse history, and disabilities in cases to reduce barriers to housing and public benefits.

What’s Next

Now that the Fellowship is complete, Brittany plans to:

  • Continue working with survivors of trauma to improve their health and enhance their economic opportunities;
  • Contribute to foundation and philanthropic efforts to forge a grand-scale social movement to ending DV in California;
  • Collaborate with community partners who are investing in new innovations for combatting gender-based violence.

Meet Other Fellows Like Brittany

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Rachel Lieb

Host: New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)

Sponsor: Baker McKenzie, Merck & Co., Inc.

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Emma Singer

Host: Greater Boston Legal Services

Sponsor: General Electric Company, King & Spalding LLP

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Rachel White-Domain

Host: Illinois Prison Project

Sponsor: Albert & Anne Mansfield Foundation

Katherine Ziomek

Host: Battered Women’s Justice Project

Sponsor: Medtronic, Robins Kaplan LLP

Current Fellow