The access to justice movement aims to address the numerous injustices in the civil legal system, where many people go without legal assistance and struggle to navigate intricate civil procedures.
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This page explains my involvement in the access to justice movement in Minnesota. This work, while not directly related to my concentration, allowed me to apply my social justice education to my legal education.
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Building Access to Justice
2018 Access to Justice Conference
On November 2nd, 2018, over 150 students from 18 colleges gathered in the Hamline University Anderson Student Center to learn about barriers for marginalized identities that exist in the legal system. 14 speakers brought their expertise, and students left with a sense of purpose or community.
Read more about the event here and here. Photos can be found here.
Mapping Prejudice Project
The Mapping Prejudice Project is an organization working to map thousands of Minneapolis housing deeds that contain racial covenants.
I classified over 300 of these deeds, and led trainings for over 100 students to learn about the intersection of racial discrimination and housing regulation, and how they can help identify these deeds through an online database in their spare time.
Legal Volunteering Program with Minnesota Justice Foundation
As the inaugural Justice Coordinator for the Hamline Law and Justice Society, I built a partnership with the Mitchell|Hamline School of Law's Chapter of the Minnesota Justice Foundation. With Staff Attorney Susan Morrow, we spoke to over 500 students. Students who partook in the program volunteered over 720 hours in over 29 placements.
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Read more about the Legal Volunteering Program here.
Legal Assistant at LegalCORPS
LegalCORPS, based at the University of St. Thomas, supports small business owners, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and inventors to receive legal advice. I served as a Legal Assistant, where I processed applications to receive services, and responded to inquiries about services through email and over the phone.
Clinic Assistant at Volunteer Lawyers Network
Volunteer Lawyers Network coordinates multiple clinics throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area. For 52 weeks, I volunteered as a Family Law Clinic Assistant, where I completed community intake, supported legal research, and obtained court forms for the volunteer attorneys staffing the clinic.