LAW 7905

Advocacy for LGBT Communities Clinic I

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

The LGBT clinic is dedicated to advancing the legal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The clinic represents diverse members of the LGBT community in a variety of legal matters and undertakes non-litigation projects to advance LGBT equality. All clinic students work on both an individual case and a non-litigation advocacy project. Students develop skills such as interviewing, client counseling, fact-finding, legal research, brief-writing, negotiating on behalf of clients, and conducting hearings. Examples of individual litigation cases are: representing a lesbian woman seeking asylum from Jamaica based on her sexual orientation and assisting a transgender woman in a men's prison challenging the conditions of her confinement. Students will handle all stages of any legal proceedings in immigration court, state court, or other forums. Examples of advocacy projects include presenting a community education workshop in how LGBT seniors can protect their legal rights and writing a report on access to domestic violence shelters for LGBT domestic violence victims. The seminar portion is a practice-oriented examination of advocacy on behalf of LGBT people and of social justice lawyering generally.

When Offered Fall, spring.

Satisfies Requirement Satisfies the skills requirement.

Comments Attendance is mandatory at the first class. Students who wish to apply to the clinic must submit a resume, transcript, and short essay (no more than 2 pages) to Prof. Hazeldean. Students who have questions or would like more information about the clinic are encouraged to email Prof. Hazeldean (shazeldean@cornell.edu) and schedule a meeting. This course requires off premises travel to meet with clients and participate in hearings.

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