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Passion and Conviction with JCADA

By Spencer Cantrell, Legal Access Program Director for the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse’s (JCADA).Spencer provides legal information and referrals to victims of domestic abuse experiencing a variety of legal issues.
Spenser

My work at JCADA allows me to combine my passion for helping survivors with a faith-based sensitivity and perspective. JCADA is terrific at helping survivors regardless of race, national origin, ability, background, faith, gender or sexual orientation while also providing a religious and cultural sensitivity that, I believe, makes us unique.

I admire Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She said,”I am passionate about the law because many people forget what lawyering is about. It’s about helping people.” I keep this quote on my desk as a reminder of why I decided to become an attorney and what my motivations are at work on a daily basis.

Recently, JCADA started Family Law seminars, where an attorney is available to come in and share basic information with clients about different family law topics, such as the basics of filing for divorce or child custody factors. This is a great opportunity for clients to learn more, in a safe space, about what they might expect, but also for clients to learn from one another and receive some informal emotional support. I’m very excited to continue this series at JCADA and, eventually, branch out into the myriad of topics affecting our clients, including tax issues, enforcement of court orders, and wills and estate planning.

Working with victims of domestic violence can be quite demanding, and having friends, family and pets at the end of the day can be refreshing. ​​I advise people that want to do this work to maintain a solid, intentional work-life balance. I also advise people to celebrate their successes with clients, because it helps to identify any silver linings that can be found.

I love any success a client achieves, and I define success however a client does. When a client chooses to divorce an abuser and completes that process, it’s typically treated as a success. When a client is able to co-parent with an abuser or enforce their child custody arrangement, that is a success.

One of my favorites is something a highlighted on the JCADA blog last summer, where we were able to help a client in a myriad of ways:helping her write h​er victim impact statement, court accompaniment, crime victim’s compensation reimbursement, retaking classes missed due to court without penalty, and moving to a safer location. I loved thinking creatively of ways to help this client and watching her become more empowered through the process.

Elle Woods said in her commencement speech at the end of Legally Blonde, “passion is a key ingredient to the study and practice of law — and of life. It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world.” I try to live by these mottos in my interactions with clients.

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