Over 60 participants learned about pro bono work in the area of bullying and cyberbullying during a virtual CLE presented by David’s Legacy Foundation and SALSA.
Maurine Molak, who, along with her husband Matt and their two oldest sons Cliff and Chris, founded David’s Legacy Foundation in 2016 after, their 16-year-old son, and brother, David, died by suicide after experiencing months of relentless cyberbullying, provided an overview of “David’s Law.” This law provides the necessary tools for public schools, parents, and law enforcement to address cyberbullying with relevant provisions in the Education, Civil and Criminal Codes.
The bulk of the training focused on the Civil Code implications of “David’s Law” and how pro bono volunteers can help parents advocate to stop the bullying using the tools provided in the law. Jimmy Carter (Kennedy Sutherland LLP) and Chris Mazzola (Patterson Law Group) offered their sage volunteer perspective about how a bullying case plays out in practice. They highlighted the use of cease and desist letters to notify parents about their responsibility to intercede to stop the bullying behavior, and the process for seeking injunctive relief, including detailed information about utilization of digital evidence.
These trailblazing attorneys have created resources to share with new volunteers and, as Chris is quick to note, “the playbook is effective; we just need advocates.” These detailed resources are available on SALSA’s DBM Project Resource Page and this month’s virtual training session will be uploaded to the page shortly.
Interested in providing life-saving support to families in crisis but can’t take a case today? No problem. Attorneys can register to volunteer with the DBM Project and be added to a volunteer list. When a project referral comes through intake, SALSA staff will reach out to determine a volunteer’s current availability.