Pro Bono Strategies Gender-Based Violence Litigation

NVRDC often represents survivors of domestic and sexual violence and stalking that have acute discovery needs or have suffered financial harm as the result of the crime perpetrated against them. This presentation will cover pro bono opportunities to support survivors accessing protection through Civil Protection Orders (CPO). Since the local CPO process involves little or no sophisticated discovery, it can be particularly difficult for survivors to prove essential facts of their case when they have been the victim of online stalking or where the respondent is in possession of devices, such as computers or tablets, holding essential evidence in the survivor’s case. Pro bono attorneys can also support survivors with requesting their right to restitution for financial harm. This training will detail ways to strengthen the sophistication of a request.

 To register for this event, please visit: https://bit.ly/3qBjNHv

Biographies of Presenters

Matt Ornstein

Matt oversees the day-to-day operations, cases, and legal matters undertaken by NVRDC’s legal staff and directs the overall litigation strategy of NVRDC’s enforcement efforts. Matt has worked as a crime victims’ rights attorney since 2010 and has represented survivors in both trial and appellate matters on a variety of issues affecting crime victims’ rights. Matt has served as appointed counsel to minor-survivors of crime, as well as the represented adults under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, state-constitutional and statutory laws, and has directly assisted survivors of crime in reporting to police and prosecutors. Through NVRDC, Matt has provided local Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and pro bono training to attorneys interested in crime victim rights and has presented at national conferences such as the National Crime Victims’ Law Institute’s annual Crime Law Conference and the international summit provide by the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma. Matt graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2008 and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Paul Hackner and the Honorable Nancy Davis-Loomis in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Matt is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia (active) and in Maryland (active). 

Dave Bligh

Dave has over a decade of experience assisting clients with their accounting and compliance needs, including compliance monitorships, investigations, and internal controls assessments. He guides his clients through reporting to and negotiations with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ). Dave is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional. Dave holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with honors in accounting and management from the University of Richmond. Prior to his career at AlixPartners, Dave conducted integrated financial statement audits as a senior auditor at a Big Four public accounting firm.

Nick Chambers

Nick has over a decade of combined experience in information technology and digital forensics. He has provided his consulting expertise in hundreds of civil and criminal matters. His experience includes forensic collections of digital evidence, forensic analysis involving user-specific activity and history, and the application of several programming languages, including C++, Java, and forensic scripting tools. Prior to joining AlixPartners, Nick consulted at a leading eDiscovery firm on digital forensics engagements. Nick has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Southern California. He is an EnCase Certified Examiner.