Tracey Watson

A mother of five children, our client was trying again to leave her husband of fourteen years.  She could see that the violence between herself and her spouse was now being reflected in their children’s behavior.

The parties had been separated for a month. Our client was living in a one-bedroom apartment with three of the children and her spouse was in the marital home with the two others.

When the client contacted Utah Legal Services, she had filed for a Protective Order but the Judge dismissed her request because the Judge told her it was a communication problem and not something that should be dealt with through a Protective Order.

The client described locking herself in the bathroom a number of times to get away from her husband.   He would sometimes still try to force the door open or would hit his head against the door.  Another time, our client was cooking food in a hot pan when her husband got angry and hit the wall with the hot pan.  He threatened to hit her next time instead of the wall.  Our client continued to describe several incidents of domestic violence including restraining her from leaving a room by grabbing her wrists.  Her husband was also starting to treat their children, and in particular, the oldest girl, with verbal threats and abuse.  Our client feared that her oldest son was learning to treat her the same way his father had treated her for the last fourteen years.

After two failed placements with pro bono attorneys, Tracey Watson stepped in and agreed to represent our client and help her obtain a divorce.  With diligence and perseverance, Ms. Watson managed to settle the case and work out a custody arrangement that was agreeable to both parties.  Our client and her children are now in counseling and are on the road to learning how to develop healthy productive relationships with each other.