Affirmative Litigation

One of our most wide ranging and immersive trainings, Affirmative Litigation guides participants through an area of our practice that’s uniquely challenging, often complex, and, for many, somewhat intimidating - but also one of the most powerful roles that we can play in our communities and in society at large. Many of the most profound societal contributions of our legal services system - from the virtual invention of procedural Due Process to the recognition of a right to safe and sanitary housing and to objective, standards-based access to public assistance - are products of creative affirmative legal aid litigation in state and federal courts.  

Our Affirmative Litigation course guides you through the process of creating and prosecuting an affirmative case in a fashion designed to put this practice firmly in your repetoire, not through oversimplifying the core issues at stake but by breaking them down into more easily digestible components over a manageable time frame. In the context of a compelling, and all too real legal services case problem, you'll spend three weeks of online activities (about 6-10 hours a week) using interactive video lectures, webinars, readings and handy forms and analysis tools to identify, craft and plan a legal strategy to address a systemic legal problem and secure broad based relief for a group of clients, while securing changes in the practices of the defendant institutions to prevent others from facing the same problems in the future. You'll end the online portion by drafting a federal complaint to initiate the lawsuit.

Then you'll join us in person for four days of intense action learning to continue working the case through motions for temporary injunctive relief, a motion to dismiss, discovery planning and the crafting of relief, all under the expert guidance of experienced affirmative litigators who will provide you constructive feedback and critique throughout.  

"Without doubt, the Affirmative Litigation training was one of the most powerful legal courses I've ever taken. It should be a required 'boot camp' for every legal aid lawyer. Participants leave it stronger, smarter, and with the tools needed to fight the war on poverty."

- Amy Guinan, Florida Legal Services

Nov. 18 - 21, 2008, Orlando: Sign Me Up!

>>>Next Florida delivery of Affirmative Litigation not currently scheduled<<<

For more information about an upcoming Affirmative Litigation training in New England (available for everyone), please click here.

Sample In-Person Training Agenda

Here's how the four in-person days of Affirmative Litigation typically break down (we also include timely breaks for beverages and snacks, as well as an hour each day for lunch):

DAY 1

9.00am - 12.00: Introduction, Discussion, and Identifying Barriers

12.00 - 12.45: Complaint Drafting

1.45 - 5.00pm: Seeking Emergency Relief

DAY 2

9.00am - 11.00: Exhaustion, Standing and Mootness

11.00 - 12.00: Damages and Attorneys Fees

1.00 - 2.00: Non-monetary Relief

2.00 - 3.00: Sovereign Immunity

3.30 - 5.00pm: Individual Complaint Review

DAY 3

9.00am - 11.00: Discovery

11.15 - 12.15: Securing Broad Based Relief

1.15 - 5.00pm: How to Survive a Motion to Dismiss - The View from the Bench

DAY 4

9.00am - 12.00: Motion practice

1.00 - 2.30pm: Nuts and Bolts of Federal Practice, Closing Plenary

For further information on Affirmative Litigation, please click here.