Coalition Building: An Essential Lawyering Skill for a Polarized World

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Franciscan D

Floor: Ballroom Level

In this time of unprecedented polarization, no one group, organization, institution, or clinic has the resources, skills, or time to feel adequately responsive to the needs of the moment. Whether we represent individual clients or engage in policy advocacy, it can be easy to feel that we’re not doing enough. When we engage effectively in coalition with each other and our larger communities, we may not only be able to make a larger impact, but also provide our students with opportunities to learn a wider range of necessary lawyering skills. But how do we build coalitions effectively in a clinic environment? How do we create spaces for our students to take responsibility while working toward larger goals? How do we identify and maintain vital relationships and help students understand what it takes to sustain effective partnerships? And how do we do all of this within the confines of our existing clinic structures or design new clinics that focus on coalition building?
Through a facilitated conversation, this session will draw upon presenter and participant experiences of teaching in distinct clinic environments, across subject matter areas, clinic formats, and political and cultural settings. We will consider the limitations that the environments in which we teach pose for our practice and the ways that coalition building might help us to better respond to the demands of this crisis-fueled moment.