Thank you to everyone for supporting CLEA! It's that time of year when CLEA memberships are due for renewal. You may have received an automatic renewal reminder today. Please note that many schools that have group memberships have begun the process of renewing but the system shows that your dues haven't updated yet. Please be patient and we will get everyone caught up! The main delays are updating the group with new members (data entry) and processing payments (many schools pay by check and that takes time). If you have any questions, please email membership@cleaweb.org.

Thank you to everyone for supporting CLEA! It's that time of year when CLEA memberships are due for renewal. You may have received an automatic renewal reminder today. Please note that many schools that have group memberships have begun the process of renewing but the system shows that your dues haven't updated yet. Please be patient and we will get everyone caught up! The main delays are updating the group with new members (data entry) and processing payments (many schools pay by check and that takes time). If you have any questions, please email membership@cleaweb.org.

Thank you to everyone for supporting CLEA! It's that time of year when CLEA memberships are due for renewal. You may have received an automatic renewal reminder today. Please note that many schools that have group memberships have begun the process of renewing but the system shows that your dues haven't updated yet. Please be patient and we will get everyone caught up! The main delays are updating the group with new members (data entry) and processing payments (many schools pay by check and that takes time). If you have any questions, please email membership@cleaweb.org.

It's almost time for the Clinical Conference!  As you're checking items off of your to do before travelling list, here's one you can take care of today--your donation to the Per Diem Project.  

Each year, CLEA’s Per Diem Project collects donations to support the community that is hosting our conference. Though it began with the collective donation of our per diem allowances, the Project has evolved into a broader fundraising initiative.  This year, our recipient is The Public Justice Center.  The Public Justice Center works with people and communities to confront the laws, practices, and institutions that cause injustice, poverty, and discrimination.  Donations to The Public Justice Center can be made on-line on the PJC website: http://www.publicjustice.org/.  Click on the “Donate to the PJC” link in the upper right hand corner and in the “Comments” box, please write Per Diem Project, so that PJC can keep track of the donations.  And if you're not ready to give today, you can bring your checkbook or your cash with you to Baltimore and give at the luncheon on May 2.

All checks should be made payable to PJC with a notation on the memo line that the check is for the Per Diem Project. 

If every member makes a donation of just $50 we can provide an amazing financial boost to the good work that they do! Help us hit our mark by making your donation today.

Leigh Goodmark, Karla McKanders, and Cynthia Batt on behalf of the Per Diem Project

Spring 2016 issue of the CLEA Newsletter has just been posted here: http://cleaweb.org/resources/Documents/CLEANewsletter%20spring%2016%20%28Final%29.pdf. 

Thanks,

CLEA Newsletter Committee

Lauren Bartlett (Ohio Northern)

Tanya Asim Cooper (Pepperdine)

Susan Donovan (Alabama)

D'lorah Hughes (Wayne State)

Kate Kruse (Mitchell Hamline)

The University of Wisconsin’s Neighborhood Law Clinic has played a pivotal role in making Dane County, Wisconsin a safer place for tenants, an economically viable place to live for workers and, through its efforts in the community and legislatively, worked to protect the rights of the underrepresented across our state. It serves as model for protecting the economic health of those most in need through advocacy, education, and collaboration.The NLC has been in existence for over 15 years. The program focuses on several practice areas including housing, employment and government benefits. Clinical law students at the University of Wisconsin Law School become engaged in their community through the legal services they offer at a community-based law office and through community education and outreach. The NLC impacts the lives of the neediest in our community and through their experiences, law students learn not only about rebellious lawyering, but also how their advocacy can tilt the balance of justice in favor of the underserved.The NLC seeks remedies and solutions where sometimes, none seem to exist. Often this requires advocacy in the housing area as housing is a critical component of a family’s economic health and security; and one that can be lost so easily. An example of how the NLC significantly redresses high priority needs of underserved residents in our community occurred a couple of years ago when we received a phone call from the Madison mayor and a prominent Latino member of our city council, who asked whether NLC could handle an emergency eviction situation. A developer, who wanted to renovate a recently purchased apartment complex, had filed multiple evictions for an apartment complex largely occupied by Latino families who were on month-to-month leases. The evictions would not only force these families into homelessness, but would disrupt their children’s education.The Clinic quickly jumped in. They identified defenses to the evictions and met with the residents to learn their objectives, which, it turned out, were simply to maintain their housing until school ended in June. The clinic students worked with teachers, schools, the local Community Action Coalition, and tenant resources to draft a compelling letter to the development company. The advocacy resulted in the company agreeing to let all of the families occupy their homes until July, instead of forcing them out in April in the midst of a school term. NLC brought the community together to solved a problem that did not involve traditional lawyering. Although this effort went largely unnoticed by the press, many families were able to remain intact and stable due to the clinic’s efforts.The NLC also identifies and attacks barriers to economic justice. Clinic students developed a process that enabled tenants who applied for emergency assistance to remain in their rental housing despite a pending eviction. When the NLC became aware of families being evicted while waiting for assistance simply because no instructions existed to allow them to take advantage of the law they created a set of forms and instructions that allowed families to apply for a stay and avoid homelessness. The “Petition and Order for Stay of Eviction Based on Applicant's Application for Emergency Assistance” was adopted for statewide use by the Forms Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference and are now available to families throughout the state who are experiencing the threat of an eviction.The NLC also works hand-in-hand with our local Workers’ Rights Center to educate workers about their rights and to enforce their rights to fair compensation in the courts. Many of the unpaid wage cases reach the NLC through outreach, education, and collaboration with the WRC. The NLC is a small program that has made a huge impact on both students and the community.

Thanks so much to those of you who participated in our CLEA Strategic Planning Survey at the end of 2015. We received a number of responses. The data we collected was valuable; we used the information during our membership and board meetings in early January and will continue to analyze the data as we prepare for our CLEA board retreat at the end of April.

The overall takeaways from the survey indicates that (1) there is strong consensus regarding the relevance and importance of CLEA's current mission statement, and of the organization's effectiveness in fulfilling the mission; and (2) the planning process provides an opportunity to enhance member engagement and organizational communication. You can view the results of the survey here. 

We will continue to reach out to our terrific membership as we continue with the strategic planning process.

The Legal Writing Institute (LWI) has asked that we circulate to CLEA membership LWI’s Statement of Best Practices regarding the 405(c) status positions. CLEA does not adopt this statement, but is circulating it to provide our membership with this information. We appreciate LWI as an ally.

Please click here to view the latest edition of the CLEA newsletter (or go to the News Tab to see all editions of the CLEA Newsletter).

CLEA submitted comment on the Bar Admission Skills Competency Proposal of the New York Court of Appeals Task Force on Experiential Learning and Admission to the Bar on November 9, 2015.