The last year has demonstrated the pivotal role that movements play in fighting for a just society. While traditional approaches to lawyering often focus on the symptoms of injustice and reinforce the status quo, movement lawyering works to transform society by addressing the root causes of injustice and helping to build the power of movements.
This workshop is designed to support clinical professors in incorporating the principles of movement lawyering into their work and to highlight ways in which clinics can connect specifically with Law for Black Lives to support the needs of organizations in the fight for Black liberation. Our objective is to introduce participants to the praxis of movement lawyering and collaboratively brainstorm how to incorporate it into various types of clinics. Our session will detail the clinical lawyering model that we have developed at Law for Black Lives and will include insight from our movement and clinical partners. We will begin with a panel discussion between movement lawyers, clinicians, and organizers on their own understanding of the principles of movement lawyering.
After the panel discussion, participants will join breakout groups based on their area of work (e.g., movement lawyering/social justice clinics, transactional law clinics, civil rights and criminal justice clinics, and pro bono programs). Each breakout group will be led by a clinician who has participated in movement lawyering with Law for Black Lives and will work with participants to brainstorm how best to apply our principles of movement lawyering to their clinics. Participants will use collaborative tools, like Jamboard or Mural, to capture and visualize their ideas. The session will end with report backs, where all participants can listen and learn from one another as well as information on how to join the Law for Black Lives Movement Lawyering Squad.