This course is an introduction on how to use law to build the power of social justice movements. It will offer you guidance no matter which movement or organized community you are trying to support. From movements of low-wage workers, youth of color, climate justice activists, indigenous communities, the immigrants’ rights movement, survivors of abuse, people coming out of prison, or people fighting to end systemic racism—if you want to use your legal skills to build a world that is better for people and the planet, then this course is for you.
WHO IS ORGANIZING THIS COURSE? This course is being organized by Movement Law Lab and taught by a collective of experienced movement lawyers across the country. We work at a range of institutions, we represent different progressive movements, we have a diverse expertise and skill-sets, but we are united in our belief that law is best used as a tool to shift power, culture and systems.
WHAT WILL THE COURSE COVER? The course will consist of presentations on: key theories of social change and concepts of movement lawyering, storytelling from experienced movement lawyers, as well as tools and resources to help integrate movement lawyering approaches into your current work. In addition, we hope to build a meaningful learning/practice community that will extend beyond the sessions and continue to build a national community of lawyers dedicated to supporting mass movements and grassroots organizing.
WHAT IS THE COURSE FORMAT? This course consists of five interactive online sessions running from July 8 – September 11, 2020. Sessions 1, 2 and 5 will be in plenary format—all of us will be in one session. Sessions 3 and 4 will be reoccurring and participants will have the ability to choose amongst a variety of dates. All sessions will be between 1.5 to 2 hours and will be recorded. There will be a course website with a discussion board and access to session recordings. The sessions build on each other and were designed to be taken sequentially. Participants are strongly encouraged to register only if they can commit to attend all five sessions.
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR? Any lawyers, legal workers, or law students interested in learning how to use law to create social change and support movements. All levels of experience are welcome. We strongly encourage legal advocates coming from marginalized and/or non-traditional backgrounds to register—this space is for you: i.e. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or other people of color), women, queer/transgender people, people from low-income backgrounds, and/or people who are formerly incarcerated.
WHAT DOES THE COURSE COST? The course is free. However, we encourage those who can to make a donation to help cover the costs of the course. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
ACCESSIBILITY: All sessions will be virtual using Zoom and/or streaming to Facebook and will have either ASL or live-captioning.
QUESTIONS? Please contact info@movementlawlab.org
Please visit our website for course dates, descriptions of each session, and registration: https://movementlawlab.org/mlcourse