Advancing Social Change Clinic 2024 Highlights

Advancing Social Change Clinic student Emily Crouse and Immigration Law and Policy Clinic student Lilli Warren prepare to join a community meeting for clinic partners in Denver.

The Advancing Social Change Clinic (ASCC) is completing its third semester at the Sturm College of Law. The ASCC focuses on movement lawyering and policy work. Working under the supervision of Associate Professor Lindsey Webb, Ronald V. Yegge Clinical Director, students in the ASCC use their legal training and skills to support community organizations and social movements outside of traditional litigation.

The ASCC is the only clinic at Denver Law that prioritizes admission for students in Denver Law’s Part-Time JD Program. The ASCC seminar takes place on weekends when part-time classes are held, and all supervisions and partner work are structured around the schedules of ASCC students, most of whom work full time in addition to attending law school. In the clinic’s seminar, students are exposed to the philosophy of movement lawyering, including principles of organizing, strategic communications, and narrative, as well as how social movements and grassroots organizations engage in state and local legislative advocacy.

Despite their busy schedules, ASCC students devote significant time to working on projects for the clinic’s community partners. In the first three semesters of the clinic, student teams supported the work of partners on issues related to the criminalization of young people, immigration, conditions of confinement in prisons and sentencing policy. ASCC student attorneys have, among other work, collected and analyzed data; conducted legal and social science research; written literature reviews, memos, and op-eds; drafted and filed open records act requests; interviewed community members; assisted with social media campaigns; and engaged in legislative analysis.

ASCC students have reflected that their experiences in the clinic have broadened their understanding of the role of attorneys in social movements, in addition to building their analytical, communication, and strategy skills in a variety of settings. Their work has made a difference for ASCC partners. Erin Pier, co-Executive Director of the Transformative Justice Project, an ASCC partner, stated:

We are incredibly grateful for our partnership with the Advancing Social Change Clinic. The dedication and skill of the aspiring lawyers on their team have been invaluable over the past two years. Their efforts last year in conducting a thorough literature review were instrumental in educating the community and engaging potential donors about the critical need to end the school-to-prison pipeline and our strategic approach to this issue. This year, they are compiling a comprehensive report on our data to highlight the effectiveness of our interventions and underscore the necessity of sustaining our programs. They are tackling efforts we don't have capacity to address on our own; their support is crucial to us.

Professor Webb looks forward to future semesters working with student attorneys and clinic partners who are dedicated to building a more just world.