Contact Julia

Tel: 415.658.5425
Click to send an email to julia@juliafweber.com

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Areas of Practice

Julia works on violence prevention with a focus on firearm violence prevention laws and procedures, intimate partner violence issues, child well-being, and fair & effective implementation of promising practices and procedures. She’s drafted and advocated for statutory changes in California and across the U.S. and regularly speaks, trains, and consults with policymakers, government and community-based organizations, and individuals seeking assistance navigating court processes.

In addition to successfully advocating for a comprehensive approach to implementing firearm prohibitions in the civil Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) context in California, and on changing laws that address the intersection of child custody and firearms, Julia has worked extensively on the implementation of the first Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law in the country (aka, Gun Violence Restraining Orders or GVROs) and with other states developing their approach to reducing risk. She works closely with her government and organizational clients to identify challenges and opportunities and to leverage resources to increase safety equitably and sustainably.

Throughout 2023, Julia worked on supporting the effort to overturn the 5th Circuit decision in U.S. vs. Rahimi which struck down the federal firearm prohibiton in civil domestic violence protective order matters in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Read more in this article written by Julia on the case, which is now with the U.S. Supreme Court with a decision expected by June 2024.

She was also honored to work closely with colleagues and survivors through the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence on this toolkit to help distinguish between the various civil firearm prohibiting remedies available in California. 

Education & Background

Julia has a law degree (J.D.) and a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Washington University in St. Louis. She pursued both degrees at the same time, bringing a cohesive and comprehensive perspective to her legal policy and consulting work. She is a mediator, a member of the State Bar of California, and was an adjunct professor teaching Domestic Violence Law at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco for seven years, through 2022. She also serves as an expert witness/consultant in family law and domestic violence cases.

More About Julia

Julia F. Weber, Esq., MSW, is an attorney and social worker who has spent her career developing innovative approaches to solving complex issues facing families, children, and communities. She began her career as a child custody mediator, assisting families going through contested litigation to develop agreements and parenting plans.  She subsequently opened a private practice representing children, providing mediation services, and consulting on domestic violence policy. In that role, she assisted a company with developing the first international employment/workplace policy addressing domestic violence and led St. Louis City’s Family Violence Coordinating Council.

Early in her career, as she listened to the stories clients and litigants shared, she became committed to changing systems, laws, and procedures to better serve the needs of those who have experienced violence and abuse. This focus built on her experience during graduate school when she co-founded one of the first organizations in the U.S. to focus on assisting those experiencing sexual harassment with navigating legal processes and identifying what they needed to heal.

Before consulting, Julia worked for over 17 years with the Judicial Council of California’s Center for Families, Children & the Courts. Her work today is grounded in the extensive experience she gained and the relationships she developed assisting judges, court staff, attorneys, mental health practitioners, advocates, and the public by developing legislation, court rules and forms, publications, training, and other resources to improve access to justice.

Julia has worked on a wide range of issues including firearms prohibitions, intimate partner violence, sexual assault on campuses, transracial adoption, addressing/unlearning biases, and child custody/family law issues. She has also worked with families forming and transforming through divorce, separation, and adoption; and with groups as a presenter, facilitator, and consultant.

Most recently, Julia served as the first Implementation Director with Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. In that position, she collaborated on drafting SB 320, California’s comprehensive approach to firearms relinquishment (“surrender”) in civil domestic violence cases. Her advocacy for the implementation of that policy in 2022 led to Giffords’ success with having $40 million in the California state budget allocated for the judicial branch and law enforcement to move forward with local procedures across the state. Julia is also a nationally recognized subject matter expert on Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) and related risk-reduction civil and criminal orders designed to prevent firearms violence and address other threats to individual and community safety.

Julia is passionate about tackling tough issues thoughtfully, fairly and with compassion. Her commitment to addressing personal and broad societal issues around gender, race, and the law enables her to effectively work with a wide range of challenging issues.  Julia brings unique experience working with systems, with people directly impacted by violence, and with leaders charged with ensuring community safety and fairness to her work identifying, developing, and implementing best practices.

Deep Experience

  • over 25 years working on violence prevention policies including complex legal issues relating to firearms violence prevention law, intimate partner/gender-based violence prevention,, and implementation of promising practices
  • extensive experience drafting key legislative policy concepts and bill/statutory language, policies, court procedures, and legal forms
  • developed the first implementation program in the gun violence prevention movement with Giffords Law Center
  • over 17 years with the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, working with California’s courts and judicial branch leadership statewide; former co-counsel of the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee
  • presenting and developing training programs – Julia’s trained hundreds of family law/court professionals, attorneys, mental health practioners, advocates, and others on firearms and domestic violence law, research, best practices, and regularly presents at conferences
  • extensive background drafting policies and procedures on gender-based violence, harassment, and related issues
  • mediating child custody/parenting time and organizational disputes
  • consulting on family law policies, procedures, and effective court processes and procedures
  • facilitating convenings and group discussions on a wide variety of topics including current firearms violence law, addressing professional and personal biases, preventing and responding to violence, and supporting child safety and well-being
  • coaching non-profit leaders, boards, and court leadership through challenging conversations and goal-setting