Faculty Supervisor: Professor Jessica Steinberg
The Neighborhood Law and Policy Clinic will take a community-based approach to serving the civil legal needs of the indigent population of DC, keeping abreast of local trends in order to maintain a caseload responsive to community needs. Participating students can expect a case docket that includes housing, public benefits, and consumer matters, with a particular focus on cases that meet the civil legal needs of ex-offenders. Students also may have the opportunity to engage in policy advocacy in front of rulemaking bodies and the DC Council.
Students will interview clients, develop factual and legal theories, conduct research, prepare witnesses, negotiate with opposing parties, engage in discovery, write briefs and motions, present oral arguments, and conduct hearings and trials. The accompanying seminar will provide students with training in both substantive law and core lawyering skills. It also will create an opportunity for students to reflect on the strategic and ethical complexities of their cases and to examine systemic issues related to law, poverty, and access to justice.
The Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics were founded in 1971, and were dedicated in 1991 to acknowledge the generous support of Jacob Burns (LL.B. '24, LL.D. '70). Burns was renowned for his philanthropy, through which he "contributed significantly to the expanding boundaries of knowledge," and left an enduring legacy that improves the lives of many today.