Eviction Defense and Tenant Protection Clinic - The Legal Aid Society
LW.12973 / LW.12974
Professor Julia McNally
Professor Jessica Bellinder
Open to 2L and 3L students; LL.M.s if space is available*
Maximum of 10 students
Year-long course
10 credits**
No prerequisites or co-requisites.
Course Description
Experiential Learning/Fieldwork
Students will serve as student lawyers advocating on behalf of low-income New Yorkers to stabilize their homes and their families and hold landlords accountable.
Students will participate in all aspects of eviction defense and affirmative housing litigation cases in the courthouses, The Legal Aid Society’s offices, and in the community. Students will conduct intake, gather evidence, prepare affidavits and write motions, prepare for and conduct oral arguments on motions, and join in trial preparation. Students will be the lead point of contact with the client and take ownership of the case and client relationship. Students will primarily work inside housing court, but will also visit tenants’ homes and buildings, and LAS offices. Students will be supervised by the professors of this course.
Seminar
Students will learn Housing Court procedure, the substantive laws pertaining to defending housing in New York City, and ethical rules in working with low-income clients. The seminar will also focus on cultivating lawyering skills through in-class exercises, moot arguments before a housing court judge, a simulated housing court trial, and developing strategies to tackle various types of client matters and cases. Regular guest speakers will visit who are experts in various aspects of housing law, the history of housing court, the tenant movement, homeless rights, trauma-informed lawyering, and housing policy. The seminar will introduce students to practitioners in various careers paths in the affordable housing and tenant protection space.
Application Procedure
Students who wish to apply to the Eviction Defense and Tenant Protection Clinic should submit via CAMS the standard application, resume and transcript. We anticipate interviewing all applicants, and will contact applicants to schedule such interviews.
Please note there is a separate application form for LL.M.s. The deadline is different than for JDs, and is posted on the Clinic Application Timelines page.
* Consult the Clinics Open to LL.M. Students page to see if the clinic is available to LL.M.s in the current year.
** 10 credits include 3 clinical credits and 2 academic seminar credits each semester.