Center for Legal Aid Education

Community Lawyering

Community Lawyering

This course is now enrolling for a July 29th - 31st delivery as part of our Summer Institue at Seattle University School of Law. Click on the registration tab below to download a course announcement and registration materials and send them in today!

In our Community Lawyering course you'll learn how to bring your legal skills to bear as a component of a broad based multi-tactic advocacy campaign designed to solve major problems for large constituencies. You'll learn strategies to build the community connections that will make you a real partner with the community's leaders and grassroots institutions. You'll explore and learn techniques of other disciplines that you'll be working with in a multi-forum, multi-tactic advocacy campaign - organizing, media and communication, policy advocacy and education. You'll learn the basics of transactional legal assistance to create and represent organizations that can serve as permament civic engagement institutions for your client community. You will explore all of these areas in the context of a community case problem for which you and your fellow participants will craft an advocacy campaign, and also have time to work with your peers to consider this approach as applied to real problems you face at home.

Overview CLE Registration Resources Inquiries

Who should enroll

Advocates who seek to help communities and local organizations build power to achieve their goals.

What you will learn

  1. How legal aid advocates have achieved lasting community change by working with local organizations;
    • Key skills of community advocacy:
    • Developing relationships
    • Identifying interests
    • Translating problems into issues for social
  2. Related skills:
    • Developing leadership
    • Building institutions
    • Media and policy advocacy
    • Community legal education
  3. How to work with and benefit from difference:
    • between you and the community
    • within the community itself

This course addresses the following ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid:1.2-Governing body members’ responsiveness to the communities served; 2.1-Identifying legal needs and planning to respond; 3.1-Full Legal Representation; 3.2-Legislative and administrative advocacy; 3.3-Community Economic Development; 3.5-Assistance to pro se litigants; 3.6-Provision of legal information; 7.2- Client participation in the Conduct of Representation; 7.13-Legislative & Administrative advocacy by practitioners; 7.15-Transactional Representation; 7.16-Representation of Groups and Organizations

CLE Credits Awarded

State Credits Ethics
RI 18 credits

This course is not scheduled for delivery. Please contact us if you are interested in taking this course.