Movement Lawyering Clinic

The Movement Lawyering Clinic is a setting in which students:

• Develop a strong foundational understanding of the tenets of movement lawyering;
• Build relationships with community organizations on local, regional, and national levels; and
• Provide legal support, research, and documentation for social justice movements and organizations.

Students will work with the Movement Lawyering Clinic partner organizations. They will meet with these groups and develop a plan of action to provide needed legal support. The direction will be led by the community groups and will be in tune with their needs. This will involve legal and fact-based research, writing, interviews, meeting with potential clients and community members, and other work. The course may require travel to meet with clients and communities.

Each casework credit requires 40 hours of casework undertaken between orientation and the end of the exam period.

In parallel with their casework, Movement Lawyering Clinic I students will participate in a class focused on learning methods of movement lawyering. The seminar will include readings and other materials. There will also be guest speakers from many of the partner social justice organizations.

Movement Lawyering Clinic II is an advanced course for students who have completed previous semesters in a Cornell Law clinic/practicum or who have significant previous practice experience as licensed attorneys. In this advanced clinic, students enroll for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 credits, depending on the number of projects undertaken, with each credit counting for approximately 42.5 hours. Movement Lawyering Clinic II students attend six required one-hour seminar classes to discuss project and casework.

To apply, students may submit a resume and a brief statement of interest in the online application process on the current student community website. Contact Carlton Williams with any questions about these courses.