This semester, 12 clinical law students, representing six law schools, participated in our Spring 2024 Movement Lawyering Clinical Cohort. Through the work in the cohort, their skills were used to advance the campaigns of four of our beloved movement partners. The cohort's reach extended from the Northeast to the Midwest and down to the South, showcasing the broad impact of our collective work. The students' work and research shared the common theme of "Ending Criminalization and Building Thriving Black Communities Our Way."

Guided by the insight and leadership of our movement partners, students engaged in a variety of critical projects that contributed to reimagining and constructing thriving Black communities. They explored the history of mandated reporters in schools, revealing how these practices contribute to the criminalization of Black parents. Additionally, they meticulously documented and calculated the far-reaching harms of the War on Drugs. These efforts not only provided critical support to our partners but also equipped our students with practical experience and expanded their understanding of movement lawyering.

Students immersed themselves in non-traditional legal writing projects and research practices, reflecting the innovative spirit of movement lawyering. They developed community resources, drafted legislative analyses, and imagined ways to mitigate harm caused by pending anti-Black policies. By embracing these unconventional approaches, students learned to employ their legal skills creatively to effectively support and amplify the goals of our movement partners. Their work this semester stands as a testament to the transformative potential of movement lawyering.

About the Clinical Cohort

The Law for Black Lives Movement Lawyering Squad began in 2018 as an effort to connect movement organizations fighting for Black Liberation with law school clinics to meet their research and legal needs. The Spring 2024 Movement Lawyering Squad is comprised of a dedicated cohort of law students, law professors, and organizers committed to advancing the struggle for Black liberation. Participants in this semester's cohort include students from Villanova University’s Clinic for Law & Entrepreneurship, University of Denver Sturm College of Law's Movement Lawyering Lab, University of Texas School of Law's Civil Rights Clinic, Cornell Law's Movement Lawyering Clinic, New York University Law Racial Justice and Abolition Clinic, and UC Irvine School of Law Michael G. Ermer Pro Bono Program. 

Our movement partners this semester include: Equity and Transformation (EAT), a Chicago-based non-profit founded by post-incarcerated individuals, Black Lives Matter Louisville, which advocates for Black liberation through abolition and mutual aid, Endstate ATL, an Atlanta-based organization focused on liberation from state violence, and Movement for Family Power, a national group dedicated to ending the policing and punishment of families.

This Spring, the work of the Movement Lawyering Squad is guided by the theme of "Ending Criminalization and Building Thriving Black Communities Our Way." Through this lens, our clinical students will support our community partner’s initiatives aimed at challenging the criminalization of Black communities and promoting holistic well-being. Students will provide research for campaigns focused on securing cash reparations for survivors of the War on Drugs, advocating for the removal of police and mandated reporters from schools, exploring innovative approaches to protect Black Queer families in Georgia, and advocating for the rights of incarcerated youth in Kentucky. 

Through a movement lawyering approach that centers the voices and needs of Black communities, our cohort aims to support organizing that collectively imagines and enacts pathways towards justice, wholeness, and liberation. Simultaneously, we are training a pipeline of law students who will be ready and trained to support movements.

Our objectives are to:

1. Leverage legal and academic institutions to support the needs of Black movement organizations by co-developing resources for ongoing campaigns (including research, policy and data analysis, popular education materials and model legislation).

2. Provide opportunities for clinical students and professors to build relationships with movement organizations and movement lawyering practitioners.

3. Ground clinical students and professors in the theory, practice and radical politics of movement lawyering.  

4. Transform the legal field by fostering a community of soon-to-be movement lawyers who are committed to practicing law in ways that build the power and sustainability of movement.

L4BL aims to prioritize historically underserved regions, including the Deep South and the Midwest, and Black people navigating the legal field.

Movement Partners

Current:

• Equity and Transformation (EAT)

• Black Lives Matter Louisville

• Endstate ATL

• Movement for Family Power

  Past

• BlackOUT Collective

• Movement for Black Lives Policy Table

• National Bail Out Collective

• National Black Food & Justice Alliance

• Picture the Homeless

• Seeding Resistance

• Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network

Law Clinics

• Villanova University’s Clinic for Law & Entrepreneurship,

• University of Denver Sturm College of Law's Movement Lawyering Lab,

• University of Texas School of Law's Civil Rights Clinic, Cornell Law's Movement Lawyering Clinic,

• New York University Law Racial Justice and Abolition Clinic,

• UC Irvine School of Law Michael G. Ermer Pro Bono Program. 

• COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL, ENTREPRENEURSHIP & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CLINIC

• HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE PROJECT

• HOWARD LAW SCHOOL, THURGOOD MARSHALL CIVIL RIGHTS CENTER

• HOFSTRA LAW SCHOOL, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CLINIC

• JOHN MARSHALL SCHOOL OF LAW, BUSINESS ENTERPRISE LAW CLINIC

• LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS COLLEGE OF LAW, THE COMMUNITY JUSTICE
  SECTION

• NORTHWESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW, MACARTHUR JUSTICE CENTER

• UC IRVINE SCHOOL OF LAW, CRIMINAL JUSTICE CLINIC

• THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, HEALTH JUSTICE LAW & POLICY CLINIC

• THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW, THE RICHARD AND GINNI MITHOFF PROBONO PROGRAM

• UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STRUM COLLEGE OF LAW, COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CLINIC

• UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DAVID A. CLARKE SCHOOL OF LAW, THE HOUSING AND CONSUMER LAW CLINIC

• UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FRANCIS KING CAREY SCHOOL OF LAW, GENDER VIOLENCE CLINIC

• UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLINIC

• UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL SCHOOL OF LAW, CIVIL CLINIC

• UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAW

• UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LAW SCHOOL

• VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY CHARLES WIDGER SCHOOL OF LAW, FARMWORKER LEGAL AID CLINIC

• YALE CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT (CRP)