In this Focus on the Job, students have an opportunity to explore common characteristics of perpetrators and victims of abuse as evidenced in the context of a family law case. The Facts You are a paralegal working for Attorney Sabrina Westcott, a private practitioner who specializes in family law. She has asked you to conduct a series of information gathering meetings with a client, Sara Frazier, who is seeking a divorce from her husband, Joseph. During the course of your meetings, you have developed a suspicion that Sara is being abused by her husband. There have been several clues:

She has insisted that she initiate all contact with the office and that no one try to reach her at home or leave e-mail or phone messages for her. As the date for filing has approached, she has become increasingly more anxious. She has told you that "everyone" says she must "get out of the marriage." She is insistent that she "must" have custody of the children and is fearful that she will lose them. She does not want to fight for a fair share of the marital property. She says she does not know what her husband will do when he is served with the complaint for divorce and wants to be certain she knows exactly when that will take place. She has said that she thinks she must be responsible for the failure of the marriage because she is not a good wife. She does not always have the meals prepared on time or have her husband's shirts ironed. Her husband says she is a bad mother as well because she "lets the kids get away with murder" and never disciplines them effectively. She says that her husband loves her so much that he worries about her every minute of the day. She and the children are so important to him that he wants them to spend all their time together, to the exclusion of other people. She always wears sunglasses and high-collared, long- sleeved shirts even when the weather is quite warm.

The Assignment: You have shared your concerns with your supervisor, and she has asked that you explain why you believe the client is being abused and recommend a course of action. Draft a short memo with your reasons.