Professor: Abdul Rehman Khan
Offered: Fall and Spring semesters.
Credits: 5

Introduction

The Housing Justice and Legal Design Clinic employs a legal design framework to understand and respond to housing inequity in New Jersey.  As part of the Housing Justice Project funded by the State, the clinic seeks to offer high-impact support to tenants by engaging in a spectrum of work that shifts legal power to disenfranchised and marginalized communities.  Centering tenants and collaborating with organizers, student attorneys will: (1) design, build, and test solutions that makes tenants’ rights more accessible, (2) advocate for legal interventions that stabilize housing for impacted communities, and (3) engage in impact litigation that empowers tenants against unsafe living conditions.

Course Structure

The Housing Justice and Legal Design Clinic is a 3-credit clinic that includes a 1-credit seminar and 2 credits of case work.  The seminar follows the schedule of weekend classes.  Students must complete 100 hours of work for the 2-credit clinical portion of the class.  All projects and cases are designed to accommodate the schedules of weekend students.  Casework may require a limited number of weekday court appearance and/or meetings.

The Seminar

The seminar focuses on substantive housing law and legal design theory.  There is a particular emphasis on movement lawyering, critical race theory, and storytelling. In addition to the seminar, students will participate in regular team meetings concerning the projects and cases for which they are responsible. The overall goal of both the seminar and clinical portion of the course is to re-orient perspectives on effective lawyering on behalf of communities to envision a more just society, centered on adequate housing.