Sameer M. Ashar, Movement Lawyers in the Fight for Immigrant Rights OR The Other Side of the Water, Episode 5: Movement Lawyering and Immigrant Racial Justice
Christine Cimini & Doug Smith, An Innovative Approach to Movement Lawyering: An Immigrant Rights Case Study
NIPNLG Fall 2021 CLE Intro (featuring Sirine Shebaya's remarks on radical lawyering) OR Michigan Journal of Race & Law, On Movement Lawyering: An Interview with Azadeh Shahshahani
Laila Hlass, Lawyering from a Deportation Abolition Ethic
Amna A. Akbar, Sameer M. Ashar & Jocelyn Simonson, Movement Law OR Betty Hung, Movement Lawyering as Rebellious Lawyering: Advocating With Humility, Love and Courage
Tifanei Ressl-Moyer, Pilar Gonzalez Morales & Jaqueline Aranda Osorno, Movement Lawyering During a Crisis: How the Legal System Exploits the Labor of Activists and Undermines Movements
Angélica Cházaro, Due Process Deportations? The Limits of Universal Representation for Immigrants
Interrupting Criminalization, Project NIA & Critical Resistance, So is this Actually an Abolitionist Proposal or Strategy? OR Detention Watch Network, Ending Immigration Detention: Abolitionist Steps vs. Reformist Reforms
National Lawyers Guild, People’s Tribunals: Holding Power to Account
Howard Human & Civil Rights Law Review, Fall Issue on Movement Lawyering (articles and essays on: 1) #BlackLivesMatter and the Families Left Behind, 2) Ways of Looking at Movement Lawyering, 3) Movement Lawyering: A Case Study in the U.S. South, and 4) Yes, You can Learn Movement Lawyering in Law School: Highlights from the Movement Lawyering Lab at Denver Lab)
Derecka Purnell, Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom
Law for Black Lives, Movement Lawyering in Moments of Crisis: Some Things White Allies (and Others) Can Do
The Justice Initiative (program run by Harvard Law School’s Systemic Justice Project and Howard University School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center)
Chris Mills Rodrigo, Law Schools Pressured to Cut Ties with Research Firms over ICE, CBP
Movement Law Lab, Resources
Purvi Shah, Love Letter: The Legal Community Gears Up for Battles Ahead
As you engage with the materials, we encourage you to reflect on the materials in whatever way you process—whether through provocations, questions, or discussions.
To facilitate discussion, we invite you to join us for a panel discussion with scholars and community members on this topic to reflect together and find different ways to challenge our understanding. More information on the panel is available under Scholar Series. We also welcome your own reflections and questions through our reflection form.
If you are looking for asynchronous reflection, we offer the following questions to guide your reflection:
Who or what has informed and shaped your understanding of the law and lawyers, particularly within immigration?
In what ways did the readings/videos/podcasts challenge your current understanding of the role of lawyers in pursuing justice? Is there justice within the neoliberal regime? What should be the role of lawyers (in any) in dismantling unjust systems and in creating new systems?
What does movement lawyering mean to you? What does it require from you, and what are you willing to commit to?
Option 1: Develop a monthly plan outlining how you will commit to learning more about the history of the land you occupy, building relationships with Indigenous peoples, and paying land taxes for your occupation.
Option 2: Sign up to attend a Legal Observer Training organized by the National Lawyers Guild with a group of your friends, family, and/or loved ones, and/or enroll in the Systemic Justice Project at Harvard Law School and the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University School of Law to imagine and explore justice-oriented careers.
Option 3: Donate time, skills, and/or money to grassroots organizations such as Movement Law Lab, Amistad Law Project, Community Justice Project, Midwest Immigration Bond Fund, Law For Black Lives; invest in mutual aid networks such as DC Mutual Aid Network or Indigenous Mutual Aid Groups; and/or mobilize for movement and community lawyering. A comprehensive database on local mutual aid networks across the nation is available here.
Option 4: Create a weekly or monthly donation plan based on your income and generational wealth to redistribute your wealth. Use this master list to identify organizations, networks, and funds you plan to commit to.