Pro Bono Week (October 24-30, 2021) falls within Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In honor of the volunteers who help us provide justice for domestic violence survivors, we spoke with Lovette Mioni, a private family law attorney. According to LAFLA Supervising Attorney Julianna Lee, “It’s a real commitment for an attorney to take on a longer-term family law case.” Ms. Mioni co-counseled a post-trial divorce case with members of the Supporting Families Workgroup earlier this year that involved multiple court appearances and extended over a period of many months. 

LAFLA: Please describe the services you provided to domestic violence survivors while volunteering for LAFLA. 
LM: I have assisted LAFLA clients with obtaining domestic violence restraining orders, and in family law matters to obtain spousal and child support, or obtain custody orders. 

LAFLA: What are some highlights from your volunteer service? 
LM: Most recently, I worked on a family law matter where there were complicated financials and our client, a wife and mother, had three pro bono attorneys and the husband/father had spent more than $250,000 in attorney’s fees but refused to pay our client any child support, alleging he had no money to do so. The court adopted our positions for support, so that was a nice “win” for our client.  Additionally, any time I am able to secure domestic violence restraining orders for our clients, I consider that a highlight.   

LAFLA: How has volunteering for LAFLA impacted you? 
LM: I am both happy to help and devastated at the lack of resources and access some people have to our legal system. I know for certain that in many instances, if my pro bono clients did not have representation at their hearings, the results would have been much different for them.   

We are grateful to Lovette for all that she does for our clients. 

To learn how you can become involved as a pro bono volunteer, visit our pro bono section or sign up for LAFLA’s newsletters.  

To learn about our work with survivors, including how to get help, visit our domestic violence/family law section.