The Yale Sappern Fellowship Program
It is a shameful reality that victims of domestic violence and abuse are often poor and without the skills necessary to protect themselves and their children through the judicial process. Year after year, trained law student interns from the Sappern Fellowship work with hundreds of such victims to help them understand available judicial remedies and navigate complicated family law procedures. Pro se litigants are able to discuss sensitive personal issues with a knowledgeable Sappern Intern in the privacy of an office rather than at a public window in the clerk’s office. Perhaps for the first time, a victim of domestic violence may receive confidential, dignified and respectful assistance.
Yale Sappern was the Chief Clerk of the Family Division at New Haven Superior Court, a position he held until his death in 1997. Shortly after his passing, his family, friends and colleagues created the Memorial Fund to honor Yale’s memory and continue Yale’s work to improve service to the community in the area of family law. Yale particularly enjoyed working with law students who volunteered their time at New Haven Superior Court, and thus the Sappern Fellowship Program was begun in the fall of 1999 … an appropriate and fitting tribute to a remarkable man.
The Sappern Fund also advances the long-term goals of familiarizing the community with the judicial system and recourse to the courts to resolve disputes of all nature, especially domestic. In addition to the immediate benefits to those in need,many former Sappern Fellows continue to advocate the rights of victims of abuse and domestic violence as skilled and compassionate lawyers after their graduation and admission to the bar, which is a proud and ongoing legacy of the Sappern Fellowship program.
Sappern Fellows, selected from Quinnipiac University School of Law, work under supervision in the court every day for the 40 weeks of the academic year, as well as the summer. Although they do not represent clients, they provide valuable assistance to parties who do not have counsel by explaining the court process and by assisting them in completing the necessary, and often complex, court forms. The Fellows receive training from court personnel, and need not have any previous experience in family law. Indeed, one of the goals of the program is to introduce law students to the unique challenges and rewards of a family law practice.
Each semester, the Fund awards Fellowships to students assigned to the Superior Court Judicial District of New Haven. Fellows work one morning or afternoon per week for 20 weeks, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. In recent years, the Sappern Fellowship Program has expanded to place interns in Hartford andBridgeport Superior Courts as well as New Haven. The Yale Sappern Memorial Fund, Inc. is a 501-C-3 tax exempt organization. The Fund’s principal fundraiser, an annual golf tournament, is held in the summer.