LONDON - Reed Smith is delighted to announce the launch of the Domestic Abuse Response Alliance (DARA).

Rechtsanwälte: Becca Naylor

DARA is an alliance of seven leading law firms who will provide pro bono legal advice and representation to survivors of domestic abuse in need of protective injunctions. The other founding member firms are: Travers Smith, Debevoise & Plimpton, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins, Slaughter and May.

In England and Wales, one in four women experience domestic abuse during their lifetime. Every week two women in the UK are killed by a current or former partner and three die by suicide due to domestic abuse. 

DARA will represent individuals who are not eligible for legal aid but who cannot afford to pay for private representation, providing them with help, support and representation from the outset to the conclusion of the case

DARA has been founded by Sam Cottman, Director of Pro Bono at Travers Smith. Sam has been providing legal support to survivors of domestic abuse for over a decade. In 2020, he launched the Domestic Violence Advocacy Unit at Travers Smith which has provided advocacy services to survivors of domestic abuse, in the same way that DARA will now do at scale.