Litigating Hague Convention Abduction Cases on Behalf of Domestic Violence Survivors

Working with Experts to Establish Hague Defenses
June 26, 2025
via Zoom
Register

9:30am PT / 10:30am MT / 11:30pm CT / 12:30pm ET

Duration: 1.5 hours (90 min)

CLE credits will be provided for New York and California. This program is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys seeking credit in the state of New York.

Survivors of domestic violence who cross international borders with their children to flee abuse may have to defend themselves against a Hague Convention Petition that seeks to force their child’s return to the country of their abuser. Successfully asserting a Hague defense can be challenging, especially the “grave risk” defense, which is often used when there has been domestic violence. Using an expert to bolster your defenses, particularly by educating the judge on the connection between domestic violence and its harm to children, is critical and can often be the deciding factor in a grave risk case.

This training features an experienced panel of clinicians and attorneys who will discuss the ins and outs of effectively using experts when defending a survivor in a Hague litigation:

B.J. Cling, Ph.D., J.D., Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Teachers College of Columbia University

Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School and former Dean, School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley

Dara L. Sheinfeld, Counsel, Head of Pro Bono Litigation, Davis Polk

Nicole Fidler, Senior Project Director, Sanctuary for Families (moderator)

Click here to learn more about Sanctuary’s Narkis Golan Initiative.

This project is supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-23-GK-05481-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Justice.