White House, U.S. Department of Justice Recognize Dean Roger Fairfax and AUWCL Students’ Efforts in Halting Evictions in Washington, DC
On January 28, the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice recognized Dean Roger Fairfax and AUWCL students’ efforts to halt evictions in the greater Washington, DC area by providing legal assistance to local communities.
In August, Fairfax and leaders from 98 other law schools signed an open letter pledging to help their communities through Emergency Rental Assistance application support, volunteering with legal aid providers, helping courts implement eviction diversion programs, among other initiatives aimed at increasing housing stability and access to justice.
Since then, more than 40 WCL students have dedicated nearly 3,000 hours to helping 50 clients facing potential eviction. Their work came as the expiration of the covid-related national eviction moratorium expired, putting many vulnerable people in jeopardy of losing their housing.
"The collective response of law schools to the housing security crisis was profoundly inspiring, and I was overwhelmed with pride in our WCL students, whose efforts were mentioned specifically during the White House event,” Fairfax said. “This is just the latest example of how the WCL community champions what matters."
Nationally, over 2,100 law students dedicated over 81,000 hours to serve over 10,000 households, based on a survey tracking the effort facilitated by Georgetown University Law Center Dean William Treanor and New York University School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison.
Friday’s conveening brought together leaders from those 99 schools to discuss the impact of that work, and how law schools and students might continue to work for housing justice in the future.
“Five months ago, I asked the legal community to answer the call to help Americans facing eviction. Law students and lawyers from across the country stepped up to take on cases, and assisted their clients and communities at a time when our country needed it the most,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Today, our work is far from over, and making real the promise of equal justice under law remains our urgent and unfinished mission.”
WCL’s renowned Clinical Program is a key part of the WCL experience. Student attorneys participating in our Clinical Program have engaged in eviction defense and housing security work through our Civil Advocacy Clinic, Community Economic and Equity Development Law Clinic, Gender Justice Clinic, Intellectual Property Clinic, International Human Rights Law Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, and Rising for Justice Clinic.
AUWCL students also have externed with organizations such as Bread for the City and the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, providing countless unpaid hours in support of local anti-eviction direct legal services.