Clinic Advocacy During and Post COVID: Collaboration Across Clinics

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Session Type: Workshop Programs

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The presenters will share their experiences incorporating COVID-19 prison advocacy into their clinic dockets. We will also discuss how strategies may have to shift as we enter a country re-emerging from the pandemic. All the presenters have experience representing indigent clients, three as former public defenders, and one in class action litigation on behalf of incarcerated people. Professors Russell, Orihuela, and Harrington were part of a team litigating a federal class action lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Prisons seeking the release of individuals at the Danbury Correctional Institution in Connecticut. Students from their clinics at three different law schools worked on multiple aspects of the case throughout its lifespan, from discovery to settlement enforcement, and they currently engage in continued efforts relating to the pandemic and prisons. Professor Ginsberg’s clinic litigated a similar lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Prisons in New York. The clinic also represented clients in petitions for compassionate release under the First Step Act. This session will explore the challenges presented by adapting clinic work to respond to the ever-changing demands of the pandemic and by coordinating supervision of work in a fast-paced environment and across clinics. We will also discuss lessons learned from engaging in COVID-response, as well as possibilities for continuing aspects of the response work beyond the pandemic. The session will include both presentation and small-group discussions where groups of clinicians can discuss their own experiences with shifting clinic focus during the pandemic, as well as ideas for building on the practice developed and experience gained during COVID-19.