Legal Profession: The Responsibilities of Public Lawyers
Professor Lani Guinier
4 classroom credits
[1L students can enroll for 3 classroom credits];
2, 3, or 4 optional clinical credits Spring
Using case studies on lobbying, public conflict resolution, class-action litigation,
community-based advocacy, and lawyering for the government, this course will explore
the many tensions for public lawyers who advocate on behalf of individual clients, who
seek to represent causes or the "public’s" interests or who engage in legislative advocacy,
community organizing or alternative forms of problem-solving and deliberation. In
particular, we will focus on the philosophical, ethical, strategic and identity or role
conflicts that confront lawyers as professionals and adversaries but also “public
citizens.” We shall explore the distinctive challenges facing impact litigators,
prosecutors, government agency lawyers, Legal Service lawyers, lawyers doing pro bono
cases and/or community organizers. The entire class will meet weekly to discuss
background readings and to engage in simulations, role-playing exercises, and small
group brainstorming sessions. In addition, the class will be divided into smaller sections
that will each meet separately with the professor at scheduled intervals to pursue a topic
in greater depth. In lieu of an examination, students will have the option of either writing
a final paper or submitting two shorter papers during the term. Those who choose to write
a final paper must either do a clinical project or volunteer weekly at a public policy or
public interest organization. The final paper should be an empirical-based study of an
ongoing public lawyering project in which the student is a participant-observer. The
paper will give students an opportunity to assess critically the public lawyering/public
policy approach they observed in light of the background reading and class discussions of
the philosophical, ethical, and strategic conflicts or issues at stake. Those who choose
instead to write two shorter papers during the term must join one of the small facilitation
groups, which will meet with the professor to discuss the assigned readings, as well as
additional background material. Students enrolled in this course fulfill their professional
responsibility requirement. Enrollment is limited to fifteen clinical students; fifty students
total. A limited number of slots are available for interested first-year students. Students
who wish to enroll in this course with a clinical component must do so through the Office
of Clinical Programs. Please refer to the Clinical course section of this Catalog for
drop/add deadline rules for all clinical courses.
The classroom components of certain clinical courses satisfy the Law School's
professional responsibility requirement. Students may enroll in a second clinical course
with a professional responsibility component, but the course taken second will be reduced
by one classroom credit. Students are not allowed to enroll in two non-clinical courses
with professional responsibility components unless they get permission from the
Registrar's Office.
Please note that the class as a whole meets twice a week.
Theory and Practice of Public Lawyering: Seminar
Professor Lani Guinier
2 classroom credits 99080-11 Fall/Spring
2, 3, or 4 optional clinical credits Fall or Spring
Admission with permission of instructor only.
Lawyers who advocate for the disadvantaged and under-represented and thus for a more
equal, sustainable, and participatory society are practicing in a new context today. These
lawyers use different techniques and play different roles than those of the litigation
impact lawyers of the 1960s or 1970s. In this year-long seminar, we will take an in-depth
look at new lawyering practices. We will build on the critique of traditional lawyering
models presented in the Responsibilities of Public Lawyers course, and further engage
with theories of race, gender, and power as developed in the Critical Perspectives
seminar, to search for roles, sites, and practices of public education and legal advocacy
that build ethical relationships, enhance learning and motivate emancipatory action. The
goal of the seminar is to move beyond critique, to engage with actual lawyering models
and pedagogical projects that seek to realize transformative aspirations in down-to-earth
ways.
Students will meet in a workshop format or in small group meetings with the professor to
discuss assigned readings and student work. Students will be admitted by permission of
the professor and only if they have taken the course The Responsibilities of Public
Lawyers or the seminar Critical Perspectives on the Law. Students will have the option of
signing up for one or two additional independent writing credits with the instructor's
permission.
Students who wish to enroll in the seminar with a clinical component must do so through
the Office of Clinical Programs, after obtaining the instructor's permission. This course
will not be available through the online Clinical Lottery.
Please refer to the Clinical course section of this Catalog for drop/add deadline rules for
all clinical courses.
Law and the Political Process
Professor Lani Guinier 3 classroom credits 41350-21 Winter
2 optional clinical credits Spring
This course will consider the way law informs and regulates representation and
participation in the political process. We will examine constitutional constraints on
legislative apportionment, districting and on access to the ballot. We will explore the
relationship between democratic principles and the electoral participation of racial,
language, and political minorities. We will study in depth the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
as amended, to understand how the law both shapes and has been shaped by social
science research, political theory, historical forces, and practical considerations. We shall
also briefly take up issues of alternative election systems and the role of women in
politics. Constitutional Law is strongly recommended but is not a prerequisite for this
course. There will be a take-home examination. Up to five students will be allowed to
write papers in lieu of the exam. In addition to the exam, class participation will count in
grading. Class formats will include lecture, Socratic dialogue, small-group participation,
guest speakers, and student facilitation. There is an optional clinical component to this
course. Students who wish to enroll in the class with a clinical component must do so
through the Office of Clinical Programs. Please refer to the Clinical course section 8 in
this Catalog, pages 225 and 226, for drop/add deadline rules for all clinical courses.
Enrollment is limited to 65 students.
Critical Perspectives on the Law: Issues of Race, Gender, Class and Social Change:
Seminar
Professor Lani Guinier
4 classroom credits 92040-11 Fall/Spring
2 optional clinical credits Fall
or 2, 3, or 4 optional clinical credits Spring
NOT AVAILABLE 2005-06
Admission with permission of instructor only.
This seminar will focus on the way the law frames race, gender, sexuality, and class as
explored through the lens of interdisciplinary scholarship, including critical race theory
and feminist jurisprudence. The readings range from law review articles to primary and
secondary sources that critically examine the foundations and assumptions underlying
legal doctrine, political institutions, gender and professional roles, and prevailing theories
of social change. We shall examine the assumptions and structures within which power is
shaped and exercised as part of the dynamic of individual and institutional change. The
seminar is also intended to provide a space for building theory/practice connections for
students who are currently developing or actively participating in a social change project
that involves issues of race, class, and/or gender. Students will share responsibility with
faculty for planning and facilitating this seminar. This involves helping to select a
problem or problems on which to focus on, developing a syllabus and goals for the
seminar, selecting readings, and lining up guest participants.
A statement of interest is required prior to enrollment. Students should submit a statement
of interest directly to the instructor.
Students will have the option of taking the seminar pass/fail. Students who wish to enroll
in the course with a clinical component must do so through the Office of Clinical
Programs with the permission of the instructor. This course with a clinical component
will not be available through the online Clinical Lottery. Please refer to the Clinical
course section of this Catalog for drop/add deadline rules for all clinical courses.