Lawyers should be realistic about client safety concerns. No lawyer can protect their client from a determined domestic violence perpetrator. We can, however, take steps to minimize the risks our clients, ourselves, and others face. Safety tips for lawyers include:

• Screen to determine whether your client has been or is being subjected to abuse even if they are there for a different reason. (You may want to use the Power and Control Wheel in your screening.1 ) Simply asking someone whether he or she is a “victim of domestic violence” is not an effective screening tool because victims often do not readily identify themselves as “victims” in response to that question. Additionally, be on alert for other issues that may necessitate further screening (e.g., if the client’s partner accompanies her to the office and insists on participating in the interview, listens to your phone conversations, or is excessively litigious. These can be signs that domestic violence is involved).
• Assess the level of risk to your client and make sure she has a safety plan. Maintain a close and continuing partnership with an agency or organization that has expertise in both risk assessment and safety planning so that clients who are in danger can be connected to resources right away.2
• Keep all client information confidential. Train office staff on office security procedures and the importance of absolute confidentiality. Safeguard any client files that are taken out of the office.
• Protect the confidentiality of your client’s addresses (work, home, and children’s new school) in pleadings and discovery to the extent possible.3
• Practice safe communications with your client. This means first establishing safe contact information and carefully documenting client files with this information. Your client file should clearly and prominently indicate whether and when it is safe to call a client, whether it is safe to leave messages, and whether it is safe to mail documents to her at home.
• When you do initiate contact by telephone, speak only to your client. Do not tell a family member that you are a lawyer. If possible, block caller ID when you call. At the beginning of each call, ask your client if it is safe to talk. Do not leave messages on voice mail and never leave detailed messages at all. In high-risk cases, have a code word or expression that you and your client both understand is a signal that your client is in danger.
• Let your client know ahead of time about case developments so that she may take extra safety precautions if the abusive party becomes angry. Always keep your client informed about the filing and service of pleadings on former abusive partners so that she can do appropriate safety planning.
• For lawyer safety, avoid using your own cell phone to contact clients. Many abusive partners routinely monitor their partner’s communications and will not hesitate to “return” your call. Because of this risk, you may not want to identify your agency on your own voicemail greeting. If you do need to use your cellphone out of necessity or need to text your client, use a calling app like Google Voice to help keep your personal number private.
• Clients should not be kept in a public waiting room in your office when safety is potentially an issue. Consider telephone intake or other security measures when needed.

• 1For a copy of this tool to assess the overall patterns of abusive and violent behaviors in a case, see Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, Power and Control Wheel.
• 2For further discussion of safety plans and maintaining connections with resources for formulating them and supporting clients, see Section 2.3.3.
• 3In Louisiana, only protective orders under La. R.S. 46:2135–2136 expressly allow the victim’s address to remain confidential. However, lawyers can file motions as needed to protect address confidentiality, especially when responding to discovery requests.

Court hearings pose special risks in domestic violence and stalking cases. On the day of court, a dangerous former partner or stalker knows exactly when and where to find their victim. Lawyers should follow strict safety protocols for themselves and their clients:

• Arrive early to court so that your client is not alone in the courthouse hallway or courtroom with an abusive partner.
• Meet your client inside the courthouse, on the inside of the security checkpoint. Do not stand outside of the courthouse or outside of the security checkpoint with your client either before or after court.
• Your client should be accompanied to the courthouse by someone if possible, and you should try to make arrangements that do not require that your client be in physical proximity to the abusive former partner while waiting for her case to be called.
• In some cases, you may want to introduce your client to a court officer and identify the abusive partner. If the courthouse does not have a safe place for victims, advise your client to stand or sit near a deputy. Never leave your client alone with the abusive former partner. You should sit between the other party and your client during any hearing that requires the parties be in close proximity.
• At the conclusion of your hearing, ask the court to order that the opposing party remain in the courtroom until your client can leave the courthouse. Ask if your client can be escorted by a security officer, if available. Be aware that the abuser’s relatives may also present a risk to your client. Sometimes courts will order that the abusive party leave first, which creates the risk that he will wait outside. Communicate these concerns to the court as necessary.
• Hold depositions in safe settings, e.g., a courthouse with a metal detector. Follow the safety rules for court appearances. If necessary, try to quash depositions that seek your client’s personal attendance in the presence of the abusive party. Use technology, such as Zoom, to conduct remote depositions if safety concerns cannot be overcome.
• The abusive party’s attorney is often inexperienced in domestic violence or family law and may create more safety risks. Be explicit with opposing counsel regarding your expectations relating to safety protocols, e.g., whether his or her client can be present for depositions, settlement negotiations, etc. 

Note on victims of stranger/acquaintance stalking: Keep in mind that victims of stranger or acquaintance stalking may face different or even heightened threats associated with civil court proceedings. In these cases, civil court processes may make the situation more dangerous by increasing opportunities for contact with the victim and by disclosing personal information about victims that can later be used to track or stalk them. In cases like these, carefully consider whether the client’s safety goals might be better addressed through criminal legal proceedings. At the very least, minimize the stalker’s opportunity to engage with the victim by ensuring that clients do not make unnecessary in-person appearances for court, discovery, or other litigation related proceedings.

Lawyers representing victims of abuse should always try to ascertain the level of risk or danger to each client. If the case has been referred by a shelter or another battered women’s organization, ask for their assessment of lethality. A simple rule of thumb for assessing risk is to determine whether your client is afraid she will be killed or hurt. A victim’s perception that she is in danger is a reliable indicator that she is.1

Attorneys will often be assisting a victim during a time when she faces heightened risks and must take special precautions for her safety. Separation from the abuser is the most dangerous time for victims.2  Also keep in mind that abusive partners who violate protective orders, strangle their victims, commit violence in public, and stalk or escalate the violence at separation are particularly dangerous.

The following factors may be used to help assess whether the abuser has the potential to kill his partner:

• Threats of homicide or suicide
• Fantasies of homicide or suicide
• Stalking
• History of victim strangulation
• Depression or other mental health issues
• Access to or use of weapons
• Obsession about the partner or her family
• Centrality of the victim to the abuser’s life
• Substance abuse
• Rage or separation violence
• Frequency of violence
• Escalation of violence
• Violation of protective order
• Prior criminal history or protective orders
• Hostage taking
• Abuse of pets          

The more of these factors present, the greater the risk of severe harm to your client.3

• 1Jacquelyn C. Campbell, et al., The Danger Assessment: Validation of a Lethality Risk Assessment Instrument for Intimate Partner Femicide, 24 J. Interpersonal Violence 653, 657, 669–70 (2008). In this study, the authors conclude that a victim’s perceived risk of being killed or harmed was a strong indicator of actual risk. At the same time, the victim’s perception cannot be the only measure of risk because many victims also minimize their risk as a coping mechanism. Id.
• 2Evan Stark, The Battered Mother’s Dilemma, in 2 Violence Against Women in Families and Relationships 95, 104 (Evan Stark & Eve Buzawa. eds., 2009) (pointing out that the majority of abuse victims are not living with their perpetrator and that physical separation is rarely an “antidote” for abuse).
• 3Am. Bar Ass’n Comm’n on Domestic & Sexual Violence, Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking in Civil Protection Order Cases 44 (2007). Most of these factors may also be found in Campbell, et al., supra.

Making sure that your client has a safety plan, either by helping her create one or by referring her to someone who will, is a fundamental obligation in domestic violence cases. Ideally, your client will have developed a safety plan with a counselor or case worker specialized in working with survivors. But do not just assume that she has one – always ask. If she does not have a safety plan, discuss the need for one with her and refer her to a counselor who can help her develop one. In the meantime, help her plan some essential strategies for safety (discussed below).

When an attorney believes a client faces immediate danger, it can be tempting to recommend that the client immediately go into a “shelter.” However, such a recommendation can be overwhelming for some clients. The practical realities of many survivors who have children and jobs make flight to a “shelter” nearly impossible, even assuming that such resources are even available. Conversations about safety require a much more nuanced assessment of a client’s individualized situation, and lawyers should be collaborative with clients during these discussions to avoid seeming condescending or insensitive to the complexity of their circumstances.

One of the first steps to take with respect to client safety planning is to assess the client’s phone and technology situation and whether it presents risks. If your client or her children’s cell phone accounts are tied to the abusive party’s cell phone account, the abusive party can likely activate GPS location tracking. Also talk to your client about whether the abusive party has access to passwords for email accounts, Facebook accounts, or other social media accounts that can be used to monitor, locate, or impersonate them. Clients should be thoughtful about whether social media posts, including photos, might help an abusive party monitor their activities or locate them.

The American Bar Association Lawyers’ Handbook on Domestic Violence and other guides recommend that you advise your client to:

• ALWAYS keep a protective order on her person and extra copies of her protective order at home, at work, and at any protected child’s school. She may also want to store a photo or copy of the protective order on her cell phone. A photo of the abusive party stored on the cell phone may also help law enforcement or security personnel.1
• Visit her local police station. Meet the officers and ask them to place her protective order on file. Although there is a protective order registry that is accessible by law enforcement, it is updated slowly at times and is not always available.
• Make the home as safe as possible and go to a safe place with the children if necessary.
• Develop an escape route and a safety plan for the family.
• Keep a bag packed and hidden in case flight becomes necessary.
• Keep a copy of all essential documentation, phone numbers, and addresses in a safe location other than home.
• Tell neighbors and co-workers the abuser’s identity.2
• Alter routines and trade cars with a friend or relative.
• Travel to and from work with another person.
• Stay alert and prepared to flee while exiting or entering vehicles.
• Keep their addresses and telephone numbers confidential.
• Screen incoming calls and keep a diary.
• If affordable, get a cell phone to call the police at 911. Most cell phones, even when not activated, can be charged and programmed to call 911.
• Give protective orders to school authorities to prevent the abusive party from picking up the children.
• Refrain from using Facebook and other social media—these can be used to track down your client. However, clients should be told to preserve, not delete social media accounts or profiles. Deleting accounts can sometimes trigger an abusive party who is monitoring the victim on social media to track the victim down in person. Also, the accounts often have evidence associated with them that needs to be retained for future litigation.
• Be specific. When discussing safety issues with your client, prompt the discussion with questions like:
• Where will he know to look for you?
• Does he know he can find you at the children’s school or bus stop?
• Does he know what church service you attend every week?
• Do you need to change the locks on your home?
• Do your children know what to do if he comes to your house?
• Do you have any friends or family who cannot be trusted to keep your address confidential?

Note on address confidentiality: The Louisiana Secretary of State maintains an address confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and stalking. The program is designed to prevent abusers from locating victims using public records and provides a victim with a substitute address in place of their actual address. If you are working with a victim who is relocating, this system works best if she contacts the program before the actual relocation so that no records are made of the new address. To begin the process, visit the Secretary of State’s website.3

• 1Louisiana law requires the clerk of court to file protective orders with the state’s protective order registry. This enables the police in any parish to check the state registry.
• 2Photographs may be helpful. The client should consider notifying her supervisor. Apartment complex security should be notified.
• 3Address Confidentiality Program, La. Sec’y of State.