Public Justice Advocacy Clinic

This civil litigation clinic focuses on the drafting of Freedom of Information Act requests and litigating FOIA and government information access cases in the US District Court for the District of Columbia and the DC Superior Court. The clinic will also participate in selected impact litigation cases and policy advocacy. Students may also represent individual clients in cases challenging government decision making, seeking government benefits and other kinds of civil cases which are appropriate for students and are likely to advance the public justice mission of the Clinic. Students’ case responsibilities include client interviewing, factual development, legal analysis, drafting of documents, pleadings, motions and briefs, and oral advocacy. The classroom component focuses on substantive FOIA law, and on developing a variety of lawyering skills, including client interviewing, FOIA request drafting, case analysis, brief writing and oral advocacy.

Contact Us

The George Washington University Law School
Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics
Public Justice Advocacy Clinic
2000 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052
202.994.7463

Faculty

Jeffrey S. Gutman

Additional Information

Information for Students

Students are selected based on their potential to provide high quality, client-centered legal services to our client population. Faculty will consider a student’s interest in, and commitment to, public interest and legal services work, but such interest is not required. Faculty aim to select a class with different backgrounds, experiences, and interests, but with a common desire to serve clients and gain invaluable experience.

Each semester, the Clinics hold an Open House where faculty are available to answer questions about their respective clinics. Students may also contact Professor Gutman to discuss the Clinic or ask specific questions.

Eligibility

Students in the second and third years of law school are eligible to apply. Preference is given to 3L students. Certification by the DC Court of Appeals to practice as a student is required and will be facilitated once a student is accepted into the clinic.

For more information, please login to the Portal. Complete application instructions are available on the Portal approximately one month prior to the registration period.

Completion or concurrent enrollment in Professional Responsibility, Evidence, and Trial Advocacy can be helpful, but is not required.

Information for Prospective Clients

In general, the Clinic represents non-profit organizations and individuals in Freedom of Information Act matters. However, the Clinic may accept other kinds of civil cases that will work well with our teaching, student practice, and mission.

There is no charge for services, although we may ask clients to contribute to certain litigation costs if they are able to do so. We reserve the right to seek attorney’s fees from opposing parties when appropriate.

If you are interested in talking with us about a case, please call 202.994.7463. If no one answers, please leave a message and we will return your call.

Language interpretation and translation services are provided as needed.

Clinic Accomplishments

The scores of students who have participated in the Public Justice Advocacy Clinic over the years have a record of accomplishment of which they can be very proud.

We have also successfully represented local nonprofits and individuals in obtaining records sought under the federal or District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act. Our clients have obtained the records necessary to advocate for legal reforms, to shine a light on government or other misconduct, and to perform necessary academic research.

Freedom of Information Act Cases

Completed Cases

Successfully represented the Council for Court Excellence in suit seeking criminal trial data in DC from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. Civ. No. 21-3071 (DDC)
Successfully represented Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in federal Federal Advisory Committee Act case to obtain records held by the 1776 Commission. Civ. No. 21-02642 (DDC)
Successfully represented Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in FOIA case seeking documents related to Trump Administration’s defund grants to organizations fighting against right wing violent extremism. Civ. No. 19-03544 (DDC)
Successfully represented DC KinCare Alliance in DC FOIA case seeking records relating to cases of alleged child abuse or neglect that were remanded to Child and Family Services Agency from the Metropolitan Police Department. No. 2021 CA 004154 (DC Sup. Ct.)
Represented Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in Freedom of Information Act cases to obtain documents relating to President Trump’s meeting with Russian officials in May 2017 and to obtain records regarding the defunding of grants to groups fighting white nationalism. CREW v. NSA, No. 18-00569; CREW v. DHS, No. 19-03544.)
Successfully represented the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless in a case seeking records documenting complaints about homeless shelters and the agency administering them. WLCH v. DHS, No. 2020 CA 001678 (DC. Sup. Ct.)
Filed and won a Freedom of Information Act case seeking data relating to the Medicare Advantage Program on behalf of a George Washington University professor. Biles v. CMS, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39269, 2013 WL 1154207 (DDC Mar. 21, 2013).
Filed and settled on favorable terms a federal Freedom of Information Act case seeking records relating to the District of Columbia's implementation of a federal settlement governing accessibility to homeless shelters. Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless v. U.S. Department of Justice, No.11-2023 (DDC).
Successfully litigated a Freedom of Information Act case on behalf of the National Security Archive against the SEC seeking documents relatinng to the relationship between Chiquita Brands International and armed militia organizations in Colombia. Chiquita Brands v. SEC, 10 F.Supp.3d 1 (DDC. 2013), aff’d, 805 F.3d 289 (DC Cir. 2015).

Pending Cases

Representing Advocates for Justice in Education in D.C. FOIA case seeking grievance resolution documents.
Representing EarthRights International in federal FOIA case seeking documents pertaining to the Trump Administration’s withdrawal from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
Representing the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project in two federal and two DC lawsuits seeking police and prosecution records of two murder cases for which the defendant may have been wrongly convicted.
Representing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in federal FOIA case seeking Customs and Border Control records relating to use of messaging app which deletes rather than preserves communications.
Representing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in federal FOIA case seeking documents related to President Trump’s claim that he deployed federal law enforcement to prevent election fraud in Broward County, Florida in 2018.
Representing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in federal FOIA case seeking records relating to Customs and Border Control union President’s statements regarding the great replacement theory.
Representing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in federal FOIA case seeking records relating to the refusal of Missouri and Florida to allow DOJ election monitors in polling places in the 2022 election.
Representing individual in federal FOIA case against Department of Interior and other agencies for records related to his discriminatory arrest.
Representing individual in D.C. Superior Court FOIA case seeking retraction of FOIA bill for records that he did not seek.

Identification Cases

PJAC students have also worked with over 30 low-income DC residents in their efforts to secure name change orders or amended birth certificates necessary to obtain DC driver’s licenses or identification cards. One such case was featured on the cover of the GW Law Magazine. Many of our clients are transgender. These cards unlock opportunities for these clients to obtain needed government benefits and to conform their gender identifies.

The scores of students who have participated in the Public Justice Advocacy Clinic over the years have a record of accomplishment of which they can be very proud. To date, PJAC students have successfully represented over 80 low-income clients in DC unemployment compensation appeals, generating an estimated $500,000 for unemployed workers and their families.

In addition, PJAC students have represented over 70 low-wage workers in wage theft cases, contending that their employers have violated federal or DC wage payment statutes. Many of our clients are Spanish-speaking and work in the construction and restaurant industries. We have also represented several clients in cases claiming that a public accommodation had discriminated against them on the basis of their disability. Together, PJAC students have secured judgments or settlements totaling over $1 million in these cases.

PJAC students have also worked with nearly 20 low-income DC residents in their efforts to secure name change orders or amended birth certificates necessary to obtain DC driver’s licenses or identification cards. These cards unlock opportunities for these clients to obtain needed government benefits. One such case was featured on the cover of the GW Law Magazine.

The following are examples of recent cases in which Public Justice Advocacy Clinic students and faculty have successfully represented clients:

Unemployment Compensation Cases

Successfully represented a group house manager accused of insubordination.
Obtained unemployment benefits for a security guard who had originally been denied benefits due to alleged theft.
Persuaded an administrative law judge, in two separate cases, to reverse the denial of benefits to food service workers wrongly accused of assaulting co-workers.
Persuaded an administrative law judge to reverse the denial of benefits to a building engineer accused of violating company rules on moonlighting.
Successfully represented a nonprofit employee fired for missing work time due to symptoms of COVID-19.
Obtained unemployment benefits for a client by successfully arguing that, under the circumstances, the client, a security guard who fell asleep on the job, had not engaged in gross misconduct.
Persuaded an administrative law judge to award benefits to a security guard who resigned her job because of an illness caused by her employment.
Obtained unemployment benefits for a woman who had been terminated shortly after complaining of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Obtained unemployment benefits for a man fired after leaving his job to care for a severely ill relative.
Persuaded an administrative law judge to reverse the denial of benefits to a man who left his shift early from a location far from home during a weather emergency.
Obtained benefits for a woman terminated from national retail chain for leaving her shift, with permission, to care for her children.

Freedom of Information Act Cases

Represented Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in Freedom of Information Act cases to obtain documents relating to President Trump’s meeting with Russian officials in May 2017 and to obtain records regarding the defunding of grants to groups fighting white nationalism. (CREW v. NSA, No. 18-00569; CREW v. DHS, No. 19-03544.)
Represented the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless in a case seeking records documenting complaints about homeless shelters and the agency administering them. (WLCH v. DHS, No. 2020 CA 001678.)
Filed and won a Freedom of Information Act case seeking data relating to the Medicare Advantage Program on behalf of a George Washington University professor. Biles v. CMS, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39269, 2013 WL 1154207 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2013).
Filed and settled on favorable terms a federal Freedom of Information Act case seeking records relating to the District of Columbia's implementation of a federal settlement governing accessibility to homeless shelters. Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless v. U.S. Department of Justice, No.11-2023 (D.D.C.).
Successfully litigated a Freedom of Information Act case on behalf of the National Security Archive against the SEC seeking documents relating to the relationship between Chiquita Brands International and armed militia organizations in Colombia. Chiquita Brands v. SEC, 10 F.Supp.3d 1 (D.D.C. 2013),aff’d, 805 F.3d 289 (D.C. Cir. 2015).

District of Columbia Court of Appeals Cases

Represented a family in a mediation arising from a dispute with the District of Columbia government about a land use matter.
Successfully appealed a denial of unemployment to the D.C. Court of Appeals for a client who was late to or absent from work on many occasions due to health emergencies and car trouble. Students represented the client at the initial hearing before an Administrative Law Judge and briefed the case before the D.C. Court of Appeals. The court reversed the ALJ and ordered that benefits be paid. Hamilton v. Hojeij Branded Food, Inc. 41 A.3d 464 (D.C. 2012).
Prevailed in a case before the D.C. Court of Appeals seeking attorney's fees for law student time in a worker's compensation case. Copeland v. District of Columbia Department of Employment Services, 3 A.3d 331 (D.C. 2010).

Superior Court Cases

Successfully represented a woman in enforcing a judicial order requiring the D.C. Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue her a birth certificate so that she could obtain D.C. identification documents.
Represented the family of a deceased Nepalese environmentalist probate a District of Columbia estate.
Represented disabled woman in probate case leading to her receipt of a substantial sum from her father’s estate.
Secured a judgment, following a day-long trial, for a worker not fully paid for his services on a home painting project.
Defended a woman caring for a disabled granddaughter against claims that she had waived her rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.
Won a D.C. Superior Court judgment for over $12,000 for a cleaning company employee who was not properly paid for her work. After the debtor refused to pay the judgment, students worked for over a year to locate assets that could be seized and successfully garnished the entire amount owed.
Filed and favorably settled several suits on behalf of Spanish-speaking construction workers for wages not paid by a large local developers.
Filed and settled on favorable terms many cases on behalf of restaurant workers denied overtime and/or minimum wages.