Ex. Power in Numbers: Representing Tenant Groups and Supporting the Housing Justice Movement
Course Information
- Course Number
- L9288
- Curriculum Level
- Upperclass
- Areas of Study
- Administrative Law and Public Policy, Civil Procedure, Litigation, and Dispute Resolution, Constitutional Law, Lawyering, Legal History and Law and Philosophy, Legal Profession and Professional Responsibility, Racial, Economic, and Social Justice
- Type
- Externship
- Additional Attributes
- New Course, Experiential Credit
Section 001 Information
Section Description
Power in Numbers: Representing Tenant Groups and Supporting the Housing Justice Movement, explores how we as housing lawyers approach legal representation both in and outside of court to further advance the goals and interests of tenants throughout New York City, with a particular focus on affirmative group representation. This course, taught by supervising attorneys from the Civil Practice of The Legal Aid Society, engages students to learn about and understand the history of the housing justice movement, the role of lawyers within it, ethical and practical considerations of group representation, and to reimagine and challenge the boundaries that lawyers are often confined by to achieve their clients’ goals. The externship is comprised of two components: a weekly seminar and an externship at The Legal Aid Society. During the weekly seminar we will explore housing justice work in New York City and learn substantive areas of housing law, with a focus on affirmative group representation. Students will learn lawyering skills, including oral advocacy, legal writing and drafting, legal research, negotiation, client communication, case theory, and planning. Students will engage in statutory and regulatory legal analysis, including close reading of city, state and federal law, and their application to facts. Included will be exposure to judicial, legislative and/or administrative processes. Students will work on case assignments (representing tenant groups/associations), engage in community organizing, and non-litigation advocacy.
Instructors: Nell Hirschmann-Levy and Adan Soltren
- School Year & Semester
- Spring 2025
- Location
- WCW 01
- Schedule
-
Class meets on
- Tuesday
- Points
- 2
- Method of Evaluation
- Other
- J.D Writing Credit?
- No
Learning Outcomes
- Primary
-
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in a specific body of law, including major policy concerns
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in doctrinal analysis, including close reading of cases and precedents, and application to facts
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in various lawyering skills, for example, oral advocacy, legal writing and drafting, legal research, negotiation, and client communication
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in statutory and regulatory analysis, including close reading of statutes and regulations, and application to facts
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in ethical and professional issues
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in the historical development of law and legal institutions
- To understand how privilege, power and identity appear in, and impact, professional practice, and potentially influence outcomes. This also includes using a critical lens to examine systemic racism and bias in the judicial system.
Course Limitations
- Instructor Pre-requisites
- None
- Instructor Co-Requisites
- None
- Requires Permission
- Yes
- Recommended Courses
- None
- Other Limitations
- None
Other Sections of Ex. Power in Numbers: Representing Tenant Groups and Supporting the Housing Justice Movement
School Year & Semester
Spring 2025
Points
2