Clinic Highlights Fall 2017

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Clinic Highlights

Ranked 6th in the nation for Best Clinical Training PRACTICE LAW. PROMOTE JUSTICE. CHANGE LIVES. 4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu

CLINIC HIGHLIGHTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 | Abo ut our Clinics 2 | I mmigr at io n and Human R ight s Clinic 3| Juvenile and S pecia l E ducat io n Clinic 4| Legis lat io n Clinic 5| Cr imina l Law Clinic 6| Go ver nme nt Acco unt abilit y Clinic 7| Co mmunit y Develo pment Law Clinic 8| Housing and Co nsumer Law Clinic 9| Lo w I nco me Taxpayer Clinic 10| Gener al Pr act ice Clinic 11| Chie f Just ice Ro bert s T hanks Gener al P ract ice Clinic St udent s for t heir Wor k wit h Vet er ans! 12| Clinica l P hot os 13| Notes 4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu

CLINIC HIGHLIGHTS

Our Clinics

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had a fulfilling experience testifying on behalf of BRAWS before the DC Council in support of B21-0696, now DC Law 21-201. The opportunity to testify gave me invaluable experiences that I will take with me for the rest of my law career. I was able to compose and deliver testimony on behalf of a client, field media questions and conduct interviews as a tool to educate the public about the issue of taxation on feminine hygiene products and its significance. Plus, I was confident enough in my research to be able to answer anticipated followup questions from DC Councilmembers and other advocates who were interested in this area of social equality.



- Shannon Cooper, ‘17, Legislation Clinic

he Clinical Program at the University of the District of Columbia David Clarke School of Law (UDC Law) represents a significant departure from traditional legal education. One vital purpose is to provide legal services to residents of the District of Columbia who could not otherwise afford representation. A second purpose is to prepare students for practice. Based on time-honored systems of apprenticeship, the clinical approach has also proven its effectiveness as a method of teaching the law by applying theory to the resolution of actual legal disputes. Thus, the faculty and students in UDC Law clinics are engaged in the practice of law on a continuing basis. By representing clients with actual legal problems, students learn substantive law and lawyering skills in the most realistic setting. This experience not only contributes to a better understanding of the law learned in the classroom, but also gives UDC Law graduates a significant advantage in the workplace. All UDC Law students participate in at least two of the following clinics: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Community Development Law Clinic Criminal Law Clinic General Practice Clinic Government Accountability (Whistleblower) Clinic Housing & Consumer Law Clinic Immigration & Human Rights Clinic Juvenile & Special Education Law Clinic Legislation Clinic Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu

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CLINIC HIGHLIGHTS

Prof. Harris, students, and clients at Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia

IMMIGRATION & HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC The Immigratiion and Human Rights Clinic represents asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution at interviews with immigration officials and in litigation before the Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, state court, United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals.

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he Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, begun in 2010, initially focused on “crimmigration” – representing noncitizens caught up in the complex interplay between our criminal justice and immigration systems. In recent years, however, the Clinic has shifted focus to respond to the Central American refugee crisis and to represent the families fleeing violence and persecution in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. This semester, Clinic students are representing three Honduran families in immigration court proceedings. Students have been working diligently on fact investigation and declaration drafting to support the cases as they go to trial in the Spring and Fall semester in 2018. In the Spring, we will also appear in court for two young Salvadoran girls seeking citizenship. Students will be busy preparing for trial, drafting briefs, preparing opening and closing statements and preparing clients, witnesses, and experts for direct and cross examination. Last April, Clinic students secured asylum protection for a Salvadoran mother and child who fled extortion and death threats from a powerful transnational criminal organization. In May, we secured protection for a Guatemalan woman who had been kidnapped at the age of seventeen and forced into a relationship. In June, we won

asylum for a Honduran mother of two, a survivor of extreme domestic violence and an activist for improved education in Honduras. This summer we also won asylum for a lesbian couple fleeing Russia because of persecution based on their LGBT status and relationship. This semester the Clinic embarked on two partnerships with local nonprofit organizations. We traveled to the immigrant detention center in Farmville, Virginia, where working with the DC-based Capital Area Immigrants Rights (CAIR) Coalition, we conducted intakes of detained adult immigrant men. This heartbreaking experience exposed students to the fast-paced and high stakes nature of detention work. In November 2017 we also partnered with Human Rights First to offer an asylum-filing workshop for adults with children appearing in the Baltimore immigration court. Students in the Clinic worked with members of the LatinX Law Students Association and our first-year Clinical Associates (who volunteer within the Clinic as part of their Community Justice Project) to help families complete the required application for filing in court or at the asylum office. This experience highlighted for students access to justice issues within the immigration court system and the importance of counsel representing asylum seekers.

Co-Directors Kristina Campbell, the Jack and Lovell Olender Professor of Law, and Prof. Lindsay Harris - Prof. Saba Ahmed

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UDC Law student Rebecca Krassel, left, and Prof. Lauren Onkeles-Klein, testifying at a DC Council oversight hearing on DC Public School practices.

JUVENILE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION CLINIC The Juvenile and Special Education Clinic protects students from improper school discipline practices and policies and ensures that students with disabilities receive the accommodations and services to which they are entitled.

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he Juvenile and Special Education Clinic expands access to justice for DC’s students and their families in relation to special education and school discipline. Law students, working under faculty supervision, learn critical skills while providing free, high-quality representation to parents, guardians, and adult children in special education and disciplinary matters. Essentially, by arranging for children to receive needed special education services, clinic professors and law students ensure that the delinquency system responds appropriately to the children's needs for care and rehabilitation. In a large number of cases, the clinic is able to protect children from punitive responses or to extricate children from the delinquency system altogether. Sometimes, however, systemic change is needed. Excessive and un-reported suspensions and expulsions of DC public school students pose severe problems for both students and their advocates. On Tuesday, July 18, the Washington Post ran an article on its front page exposing several issues with undocumented suspension and other DC Public School “push-out” practices. This article was mainly the result of the advocacy (and the complaint filed) by the Clinic, working in conjunction with Advo-

cates for Justice and Education, (AJE) which was founded by, and is currently led by, UDC Law Juvenile and Special Education Clinic alumni. In late October 2017, the DC Office of the State Superintendent for Education (OSSE) agreed with the Clinic and found that DCPS violated the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) by unlawfully excluding students with disabilities from school, inaccurately recording absences, and denying students necessary, legally required supports and protections. “Illicitly preventing students from entering school and denying these same students necessary and legally required services, protections, and supports, is absolutely devastating for these kids,” said Clinic Director Lauren Onkeles-Klein. “Rather than receive critical instruction, therapies, and interventions, these students are considered truant and left to languish at home or on the streets. “The practice of illegally preventing children from attending school and entering fraudulent information into the attendance system calls into question all of DCPS’s data regarding claims of reductions in suspensions and truancy,” said Onkeles-Klein. “We hope that this information helps serve as a catalyst for immediate systemic action.”

Clinical Director/ Professor Lauren Onkeles-Klein

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CLINIC HIGHLIGHTS Students at the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee Meeting

LEGISLATION CLINIC In the Legislation Clinic, students learn about legislative lawyering and experience the development of public policy first hand, representing nonprofit and community organizations before local and national legislative bodies, regulatory agencies, and in the courts.

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his semester, Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) is one of the Clinic’s clients. JUFJ is a grassroots community group that leads the DC Paid Family Leave Campaign - a coalition of over 200 businesses, nonprofits, and national networks working to bring effective paid family and medical leave to the District and move forward with the implementation of the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act (UPLA), which went into effect in April. Over the summer, five bills were put forth to change certain components of the new law. On October 10th, DC Council Chair Mendelson convened a hearing at which more than 100 people testified. A 13-person Clinic team—comprised of faculty, student attorneys and 1L clinic associates—was at the hearing with JUFJ for 12 hours. 3Ls Hannah Amundson, Grace Emery, Tom Moore, and Maryann Mennano led our team’s work by providing significant research on a critical issue.

At the hearing, JUFJ asked Grace Emery to testify on behalf of Sarah Comeau, a former teacher whose job was eliminated after 11 years of service when she notified her employer that she was pregnant. Hannah Amundson testified on behalf of the Little Red Fox café, representing numerous local businesses who support the UPLA in its current state. Professor Karin also testified, in her personal capacity, about the impact that the bills may have on retaliation against workers. Karin and Emery submitted written testimony about potential retaliation against workers at local universities. According to Amundson, who was the final witness at the hearing, “it was very fulfilling to have the last word on behalf of defending the UPLA.” Moore agreed, “it was really humbling to see our client use the work we put in as a team as part of a much broader movement and collective action on behalf of so many people across the city.”

Clinical Director, Jack and Lovell Olender Prof., Marcy Karin - Prof. Laurie Morin - Prof. Monica Bhattacharya

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Alumni working in criminal law include our Class of 2017 defenders, Thomas Matthew (MD Office of the Public Defender) (top left), Nana Yankah (Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services), Marsha Williams (Defender Assn. of Philadelphia) (far left), and Max Kauffman (NM Law Office of the Public Defender, Albuquerque). A few of our prosecutors—all with the Asst. State’s Attorneys for Prince George’s County, MD, include, (above from left) Jacqueline B. Oudia, ’10, Latrice Flucas-Cush, ’03, Stacey Cobb-Smith, ’06, Julia Gagne Rupert, ’14, and Lakuita N. Bittle, ’15.

CRIMINAL LAW CLINIC The Law Students in Court Criminal Law Clinic provides students the opportunity to represent adult clients charged with misdemeanors in DC Superior Court and children involved in delinquency matters.

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perated by DC Law Students in Court (DCLSIC), the Clinic provides students with the opportunity to represent adult clients charged with misdemeanors in DC Superior Court and children involved in delinquency matters. Although supervised by attorneys, the students themselves are responsible for every aspect of their cases. Students conduct extensive fact investigations, including finding and interviewing defense and government witnesses, undertaking pretrial discovery, preparing and filing pleadings, engaging in plea negotiations, arguing motions, and representing their clients at trial and other proceedings, such as probation revocation hearings. Students learn effective lawyering skills and receive trial advocacy training through weekly classroom seminars, guest lectures, one-on-one supervision, and case-rounds with their colleagues. The program provides supervision and instruction that emphasizes zealous advocacy and reflection.

Students handle cases for clients charged with misdemeanors such as simple assault, unlawful entry, assault on a police officer, and sexual abuse. Prior to their clients’ first court appearances, each student interviews his or her incarcerated client and crafts a persuasive argument to present to the arraignment judge to obtain his or her client’s release from jail under the least restrictive conditions possible. Students thoroughly investigate their cases with their fellow students, go to the scenes of the alleged offenses, take photographs, and interview various witnesses and police officers in order to gather facts and develop case theories. As a result of the information they gather students file numerous pretrial motions and prepare for trial throughout the year. Many of the students obtain dismissals in their client’s cases before trial, or obtain favorable outcomes such as diversion agreements. Others handle the entire case through trial. Ninety-five percent of cases result in dismissals or acquittals at trial!

Executive Director Moses Cook

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GAP Legal Director and clinical professor, Tom Devine,’80, speaking at TEDx Wilmington, July 2016.

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY CLINIC The Government Accountability Project Clinic provides students with a unique opportunity to work with leaders in the legal community who preserve freedom of speech by protecting those who blow the whistle on corporate and governmental abuses of power that betray the public trust.

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he Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest organization that promotes government and corporate accountability through advancing occupational free speech and ethical conduct, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists.

GAP's lawyers and law students represent government and private employees who are threatened with retaliation for speaking out against fraud, waste, mismanagement, abuse of authority, environmental dangers, and public health and safety problems. GAP clients span a wide spectrum, including persons who deal with environmental issues, nuclear oversight, food and drug safety, worker health and safety, patient care, international reform and national security. Clinic students primarily focus on three dimensions of the work: 1) investigating claims of retaliation and developing evidence to support the claims; 2) filing complaints under the Whistleblower Protection Act and other anti-retaliation laws; and 3) conducting legal research to monitor whether employ-

ers are adhering to the law or whether laws need strengthening. GAP is particularly concerned with government agencies that misuse their own whistleblower protection mechanisms. They have had cases where an agency’s internal investigators have themselves retaliated against a whistleblower. Students have played important roles in these cases. In one, a GAP Clinic student’s investigation of retaliation against a federal law enforcement officer who disclosed corruption led to a settlement with the agency and prevented the obstruction of an international drug smuggling probe. In a second case, a student drafted a successful petition requesting a stay of a firing of a Department of the Interior employee who had disclosed the agency’s shortcutting of the environmental reviews necessary for offshore oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean. In addition to learning the intricacies of whistleblower law, GAP Clinic students are exposed to and work with a wide variety of environmental and employment law.

Clinical Director/Professor Tom Devine

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Welcome New CDL Clinic Co-Director, Professor Etienne Toussaint!

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LAW CLINIC In the Community Development Law Clinic, students learn transactional lawyering skills through representing nonprofit organizations and small, urban entrepreneurs. They explore and implement models of legal practice that assist clients in developing control and ownership of economic and social assets in their communities.

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tudents in the Community Development Law Clinic (CDLC) learn transactional and business lawyering skills while representing nonprofits and small, urban entrepreneurs. CDLC clients offer a diverse range of subject matter. In addition to tenant associations and housing cooperatives, students are representing nonprofits that provide services to incarcerated youth, offer job readiness training for asylum seekers, and enable childcare workers to form their own businesses. Clinic students provide clients with a wide range of direct legal services to help them establish and operate their businesses and programs. Students advise clients on business structure; prepare articles of incorporation, bylaws, partnership agreements, and business contracts; advise clients on basic tax law, zoning, licensing, intellectual property, and other legal issues; research trademarks and prepare trademark applications; prepare applications for tax exempt status and represent clients in the application process with the IRS; and mediate business disputes. Clinic students also help prepare and conduct client workshops on critical legal issues.

The student begins by ascertaining the client’s goals. Following an analysis, the student and client plan an approach. They may start with the basics: drafting organic rules to guide the organization’s functioning, advising on governance issues or educating the client about the responsibilities of a Board of Directors. They may partner with accounting or other consultants to achieve solutions to financial needs, such as accessing capital, or conducting risk assessments. They may work with others, including organizers or policy makers, to resolve community-wide problems. Finally, they may negotiate and prepare documents for complex transactions, including sales of real estate – experiences that many lawyers do not get until they have several years of post-law school employment under their belts. During the 2016-17 academic year, students assisted three housing cooperatives that provide homes to 57 families in structuring their loans and resolving other financial challenges. Students are helping a tenant association acquire and renovate 14 units of slum rental housing property and convert them to a cooperative for the building’s residents.

Clinic Co-Directors, Professor Louise Howells and Professor Etienne Toussaint - Prof. Jerome Hughes

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HOUSING & CONSUMER LAW CLINIC The Housing and Consumer Law Clinic fights for safe and affordable housing for some of the most vulnerable DC residents by defending against illegal evictions, bringing affirmative habitability actions, challenging illegal rent increases and combating housing discrimination.

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any DC residents struggle to retain safe and affordable housing. When their housing is threatened, many seek assistance from the Housing & Consumer Clinic. Ms. M.’s story is one example of the critical assistance students provide.

tions, peeling paint, broken floor tiles and a broken fence were among the violations that threatened her health and safety.

Ms. M., an elderly DC resident who has lived in her current apartment for almost ten years, is retired, functionally illiterate and relies on her son and brother to assist her in routine matters, including those affecting her housing. She receives a subsidy to help cover her rent, but fell behind in her payments after the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) raised her rent and initiated eviction proceedings.

The students defended the eviction action and assisted Ms. M. with pre-trial fact development (“discovery”). They conducted settlement negotiations with DCHA, prepared Ms. M. and her family members for mediation and represented her in the mediation process. Their advocacy resulted in a settlement with DCHA that enabled her to make up the unpaid rent in small increments based on her ability to pay and that requires DCHA to remedy all of the housing violations. She expects that the repairs will be completed soon.

Clinic students Rahul Tilva, ‘17, and Tijuana Barnes, ’18, investigated the case. They learned that Ms. M.’s apartment was riddled with housing code violations that had not been addressed by the DCHA, despite her requests. Mice and roach infesta-

The students thus prevented an elderly resident from becoming homeless and substantially improved her living conditions. Ms. M. was relieved that she would not lose her apartment and was very happy with the advocacy our students provided.

Clinical Director/ Professor Norrinda Brown Hayat

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Prof. Jasmin Mize

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LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINIC The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) gives students the opportunity to help clients overcome serious financial hardship by resolving tax problems which threaten their stability. LITC clients are persons of modest means, often low-wage immigrant workers, for whom the assistance can be life-changing.

This fall, the LITC successfully concluded a client matter dating back to 2014. The clients, a blind lowincome couple, were originally referred to the LITC by a community organization. Their tax debt was due to the mishandling of an otherwise tax-sheltered account. In 2014, the Clinic represented them in U.S. Tax Court, reducing their tax debt by 75%. In an attempt to resolve the remaining debt, the Clinic filed an Offer in Compromise based on Effective Tax Administration (ETA). ETA Offers are largely based on public policy principles and have a very low acceptance rate. Following the denial of the ETA Offer, Clinic students appealed the IRS's determination. The case ultimately resulted in an in-person IRS Appeals Conference, and many months later, the Clinic was notified that the appeal was successful. Working with the couple has been a profound and humbling experience for clinic students and supervisors. The LITC often receives requests for assistance from those employed in a wide range of political

industries. Last year a local embassy employee, who supported a large family on an extremely modest embassy salary, contacted the Clinic for assistance regarding U.S. tax debt he could not resolve on his own. The Clinic successfully filed an Offer in Compromise on his behalf that was quickly accepted. In a touching show of appreciation, the LITC benefitted from a delicious home-cooked meal provided by the client and his family. Last year, LITC launched a joint pilot with the Harvard Law School Tax Clinic. The Tax Court Research Project (TCRP) is intended to connect unrepresented taxpayers with participating LITCs across the country. Two students enrolled in the Fall 2017 Clinic are pictured conducting on-site Tax Court research (Chris Pascual and Emily Backes, photo, above right). Special thanks to Nyasha Simmons, the LITC's 2017 EJW Summer Research Fellow, and the 1L students who participated in the TCRP last year for their assistance in launching the national TCRP pilot!

Clinical Director/ Professor Jacqueline Laínez Flanagan

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Professor Megan Newman

CLINIC HIGHLIGHTS

Clinic Students and Faculty at a U.S. Supreme Court Lecture

GENERAL PRACTICE CLINIC Students in the General Practice Clinic represent low-income clients dealing with some of life’s hardest issues. Many help seniors and persons with disabilities remain as independent as possible and avoid institutionalization. Others help resolve family problems that are likely to escalate and traumatize children.

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n the past year, the Clinic has provided direct benefits to DC’s low-income seniors and equipped students with the knowledge and experience they need to become capable elder law practitioners. To reach more seniors, the Clinic has forged relationships with nonprofits that work with low-income seniors such as the Whitman Walker Clinic, DC KinCare Alliance, Ward 7 Legal Services Providers, the Children’s Law Center (whose clients are frequently in the care of grandparents), and Justice in Aging. One recent highlight was recognition given the General Practice Clinic for our work to obtain courtappointed guardians for incapacitated veterans. In addition to a Certificate of Appreciation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presented the Clinic students with a letter of recognition signed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., thanking them for their outstanding work on behalf of America’s veterans!

Examples of legal assistance most recently provided by General Practice Clinic students for low-income seniors include: 



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Researched, analyzed and wrote an exhaustive white paper on health and safety issues for an organizational client that serves persons (including seniors) struggling with substance abuse; Secured guardians for veterans who have lost the ability to make healthcare and financial decisions in cooperation with the DC Veterans’ Hospital; Drafted wills and advance directives; Assisted older clients caring for their disabled adult children with legal issues involving guardianship, child support arrearages, and public benefits; Protected the ability of seniors to remain in their homes and avoid institutionalization; Represented seniors in child custody cases.

Clinical Co-Directors Professor Faith Mullen and Professor Tianna Gibbs

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Professor Natasha Bennett

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Chief Justice Roberts Thanks General Practice Clinic Students for their Work with Veterans! Working in partnership with the VA Medical Center, students in the General Practice Clinic sought and obtained guardians for older veterans who lacked capacity to engage in safe discharge planning. As a result, the older clients now have someone responsible for making sure they receive the best care in the best settings to meet their needs. On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs presented a Certificate of Appreciation to UDC David A. Clarke School of Law for that advocacy, together with a letter of recognition signed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.

“In recognition of Professor Faith Mullen and her students at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law

Thank you for this opportunity to share my appreciation for the outstanding work of Professor Faith Mullen and her students at the University of the District of Columbia David Clarke school of law on behalf of this country's veterans. By volunteering to help obtain guardians for incapacitated veterans who lack family or resources to appear in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Prof. Mullen and her students have demonstrated their commitment to the legal profession and to the duty we all share to engage in public service. It is fitting that we honor them at today's ceremony. I join in congratulating the professor and her students for their pro bono work. Sincerely, John Roberts Jr.” 4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu

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particularly enjoyed my experience working with BRAWS because our client was so enthusiastic about learning how to navigate the policy world, and we saw the immediate results of our advocacy. We combined our activism and resources as student attorneys with her passion, and together were able to testify in support of a bill that passed the DC Council.



- Aysha Iqbal, ’17, Legislation Clinic

4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu

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NOTES

4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu

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PRACTICE LAW. PROMOTE JUSTICE. CHANGE LIVES. 4340 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20008 | 202.274.7400 | www.law.udc.edu