Managing Domestic Violence: A Practical Handbook for Family Lawyers

In the introduction to Managing Domestic Violence: A Practical Handbook for Family Lawyers, author and professor Desmond Ellis explains that there are several factors that compelled him to write this book, but two in particular stand out. First, the fact that “the majority of couples participating in contested family court proceedings bring historical violence with them to court” and second, the absence of mandatory domestic violence curricula for family law students at most, if not all, law schools in Canada.

This text offers pragmatic solutions for addressing these issues and provides family law lawyers with constructive insight that they can leverage when representing their clients.

Valuable direction
This useful guide offers legal professionals an overview of how to manage situations of domestic violence in the context of separation and divorce, and provides direction for recognizing and addressing the issues that result. Based on observations of family court proceedings at six family courts in the Greater Toronto Area over the course of six years, Managing Domestic Violence: A Practical Handbook for Family Lawyers includes proven resources and methods for managing the risk of domestic violence, with a particular focus on restraining orders and screening assessments.

A useful resource
Written by a highly experienced expert in the area of domestic violence, this text will be especially useful for family lawyers, mediators and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) professionals who will benefit from: 

• The quality of the empirical findings reported by the authors of the studies cited
• The evidence-based recommendations for managing domestic violence issues
• The inclusion of screening and risk assessment instruments with scoring instructions
• The cultural and cross-culturally informed content
• The specific focus on violence prevention

 This volume would also be a valuable addition to law libraries as a helpful research resource.