Clinic Newsletter Spring 2011

SPRING 2011

SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL CHILDREN’S RIGHTS, IMMIGRATION LAW AND STREET LAW

CLINICS

CLINIC

NEWSLETTER INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 1 Children’s Rights Clinic 3 Immigration Law Clinic 3 Contact Information 4 Street Law Clinic and Public Service Program

SOUTHWESTERN PARTNERS WITH THE CHILDREN’S LAW CENTER

CLINIC STUDENTS’ FINAL PROJECTS

A Unique Externship Opportunity

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he Children’s Law Center and Southwestern Law School’s year-long program offers a new opportunity for law students, beginning the Summer of 2011. This program is a one year commitment, beginning with full time work for ten weeks during the summer. Students accepted in the program will then register for 2 units of externship credit for both the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters, for a total of 4 units (Credit/No-credit).

Three law students will be selected to participate.

Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles (CLC) is a nonprofit, public interest law corporation funded by the Los Angeles Dependency Court to serve as appointed counsel for abused and neglected children in Los Angeles County. CLC attorneys represent children in the foster care system, advocate for critical supports and services and serve as their “voice” while these children are under the jurisdiction of the dependency court. Practicing in dependency court requires the development of expertise in a variety of areas including negotiation and mediation skills, legal research and writing, and trial skills along with an array of non-legal areas related to child and family well being including, child development, health and mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence and special education. Children’s Law Center offers an unparalleled level of expertise in child advocacy and a unique opportunity for law students and attorneys who wish to specialize in the representation of children in child abuse and neglect cases. For more information on CLC, please visit their website at clcla.org We would like to congratulate these three students who were selected to participate: Dana Branen, Kristen Cortez and Deborah Kahn. Professor Cohen is looking forward to working with them as their faculty advisor.

SAVE THE DATE! Our Public Service Awards Luncheon, where we will recognize our students who performed at least 25 hours of pro bono public service this academic year, and those who are graduating with 75+ PSP hours, will be held April 7 (see Program Details on page 4).

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES Clinic Open House March 24, 5-7 pm Clinic Information Session April 4, 12:30 pm, W311 2011-2012 Clinic Applications Due April 15

Solutions to Special Needs Problems n Fall 2010, Children’s Rights Clinic (CRC) students were presented with a unique challenge—to work in groups and research areas of special education and discipline law in ways separate from typical legal research.

Intended to mirror the type of research students might confront at a nonprofit organization, CRC students were asked to describe a current systemic problem; gather data about the nature and extent of the problem; and propose a response to the problem in both written and oral form.

Candace Jones, Marissa Gittler, Natalie Rodriguez and Sam Wolf researched the exemption of several local charter schools from the California Education Code and how the exemptions affect students attending these schools, particularly in the area of school discipline.

Kristen Cortez, Jennifer Hartman, Bahar Sodaify, Chris Treiber and Heather Walters researched the process of manifestation determination review—that is, the process by which a student with special needs is disciplined for actions separate and distinct from actions associated with the student’s disability.

Both groups presented possible solutions that were both innovative and practical. CRC plans to expand on the students’ research through development of a pilot project that will work with local charter schools on deriving collaborative alternatives to expulsion when dealing with specific school code violations.

A THANK YOU LETTER FROM A GROUP HOME CASE MANAGER “I want to take this moment to thank each of you for all the hard work and effort you put in to helping SB. What you all have made happen has literally changed her life and given her hope for her future, and also has helped her learn that there are good people in this world who will help you with no strings attached. She is a long way from trusting people, and that makes sense given her background, but you have planted some strong seeds in helping her learn to look at people differently. Another huge effect this has is her relationship with her family. They are so proud of her, and they see how she has grown as a young lady and they see a future for her. This is important to SB, especially in relation to her Mom and her little brother.

As you all continue to help the SB’s of the world, I hope you take a moment to reflect on the huge effect it has on a young person’s life, both short & long term. You have made a difference in SB’s life and she is so blessed to have each of you in her life for this past year. Thanks again for everything.”

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Southwestern’s Children’s Rights Clinic (CRC) provides representation to low-income children in the areas of school discipline, special education and other education related issues. The clinic is staffed by law students who represent clients under the supervision of Professor Julie Waterstone and Clinical Fellow Jenny Rodriguez-Fee. Students have the opportunity in a reallife context to hone their lawyering skills such as interviewing, negotiating, counseling, pre-trial litigation and oral advocacy.

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS CLINIC

FALL 2010 AT A GLANCE

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all 2010 CRC students included: Kristen Cortez, Marissa Gittler, Jennifer Hartman, Caspar Jivalagian, Candace Jones, Natalie Rodriguez, Bahar Sodaify, Chris Treiber, Heather Walters and Sam CRC Students (from left) Gittler, Cortez, Wolf and Jones Wolf. Their hard work throughout the semester resulted in several successes for children with special needs.

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Sam Wolf and Kristen Cortez represented a student at an expulsion hearing who, apart from having significant educational needs that had gone unnoticed for years, was also a victim of severe physical and mental abuse by his mother. Sam and Kristen successful fought the expulsion and the student is now being assessed for special education.

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Marissa Gittler and Natalie Rodriguez successfully appealed the expulsion of a 3.8 GPA student from her charter school, based on the charter’s development of more stringent disciplinary standards than the Education Code. This student had never been in trouble before and was held responsible for a violation she did not commit. She is now at a comprehensive high school, taking honors and AP courses and preparing for college next year.

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Candace Jones and Jennifer Hartman negotiated a favorable settlement, including attorney’s fees, for their client—a 17-year old boy with autism who had been denied necessary services and supports from his school for several years, despite his adopted father’s pleas to the school district for assistance.

Sam Wolf successfully filed three complaints with the California Department of Education against various school districts. In each instance, the school district was found in violation of CA Education Code and required to correct the violations in various ways.

Chris Treiber and Bahar Sodaify obtained residential placement for a child with severe behavioral and emotional needs, successfully removing him from a juvenile detention center where he spent nearly six months without necessary mental health services. This child has threatened suicide on numerous occasions, caused harm to himself and has been in the foster care system for most of his life.

Heather Walters and Candace Jones obtained special education eligibility for a child in foster care who had been transferred to five different schools in the period of one academic year. His current school attempted to expel him until Heather and Candace’s special education request. He is now receiving appropriate services and doing well.

CRC STUDENT OUTREACH Informs Local Parents and Professionals

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RC’s mission is not only to advocate on behalf of students with special needs, but also to educate and inform parents and members of the community about the rights and protections afforded to students.

During the Fall 2010 semester, each CRC student conducted community outreach through trainings and presentations. Natalie Rodriguez and Jennifer Hartman conducted a training on special education law here at Southwestern. Despite heavy rain, approximately 10 parents and community members came out.

Bahar Sodaify and Kristen Cortez held a training on school discipline at Southwestern with approximately 15 people in attendance.

During this training, a lively discussion occurred regarding police interrogation of students on school grounds without parents or representation present. This topic is now being researched by three Spring 2011 CRC students as part of their final project.

Finally, Heather Walters and Chris Treiber conducted a training session on school discipline for approximately 30 advocates from the Office of Client Rights Advocacy. Their presentation was followed by an expulsion hearing simulation CRC Students (from left) Treiber and Walters where students Marissa Gittler, Kristen Cortez, Sam Wolf and Candace Jones acted as hearing participants and demonstrated the process of a typical expulsion hearing.

Evaluations and comments from all three presentations were incredibly positive. One participant stated, “Thank you very much for offering this session! The information was most informative. It opened my eyes….”

“I owe a great deal to the Clinical Program.

CRC not only exposed me to a fascinating area of law but directly aided in my transition from ‘law student’ to ‘lawyer.’”

– Jenny Rodriguez-Fee ‘08, CRC Clinical Fellow

CRC ALUMNI: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

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any alumni of the Children’s Rights Clinic have continued their work in public interest upon graduation. Here are a few updates on the work these alums are doing: n

Sheryl Bailey ‘09: Currently, Attorney with the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office; previously, Attorney in the Adoptions Unit at Public Counsel

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Leah Cohen-Mays ‘09: Dependency Attorney with the Children’s Law Center

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Maria (Guiza) Palomares ‘09: Attorney with Neighborhood Legal Services

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Jenny Rodriguez-Fee ‘08: Clinical Fellow in the Children’s Rights Clinic at Southwestern Law School

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Matthew Weiner ‘09: Attorney with the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services

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IMMIGRATION LAW CLINIC

Southwestern’s Immigration Law Clinic (ILC) provides free legal representation to low-income children and adults in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) (clients under the age of 21), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and U-visa cases. The Clinic is staffed by law students who represent clients under the supervision of Professor Andrea Ramos and Clinical Fellow Julia Vásquez.

FALL 2010 AT A GLANCE

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all 2010 ILC students included: Chung Chung, Liz Gonzalez, Dimitry Krol, Alejandra Rodriguez, Bahareh Saghian, Shoham Solouki, Jeanny Tsoi, Cynthia Valdez, Sipora Zaghi and Gayane Zorabian.

Karla Cortez continued to work in the clinic under the Advanced Immigration Law Clinic. Here is a brief snapshot of their casework:

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Gayane Zorabian and Dimitry Krol worked with a 14-year old victim of severe domestic violence by her father. Our client’s mother was so badly abused that she developed a brain mass and required surgery; she is now unable to walk or talk. The students carefully balanced their advocacy and interviewing skills as they worked with our young client to gather the necessary information to draft a compelling declaration and complete a strong U-visa application for the child and her mother.

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Cynthia Valdez, Sipora Zaghi and Liz Gonzalez worked under a tight deadline to expedite a U-visa application for a 7-year old victim of sexual abuse. The student team completed the U-Visa packet for the young girl, her mother, and two siblings. The case required a quick turnaround because the oldest sibling was on the verge of aging out of eligibility for derivative status.

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Chung Chung worked with a young girl who was abandoned by her birth parents only to be abused by her court appointed guardian. She now lives in a foster home. During the semester, the client suffered a mental breakdown and was hospitalized. Chung worked closely with the client’s social worker and foster parent to meet with the client and prepare her SIJS application.

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Bahareh Saghian and Jeanny Tsoi completed a SIJS application for siblings whose mother suffers from severe mental health issues. The children had to beg neighbors for food—and often had no running water or electricity. Fortunately, the children managed to contact a family member and they are now living with their grandmother.

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Alejandra Rodriguez and Shoham Solouki worked diligently to complete a U-Visa packet for a victim of domestic violence. Our client, whose son is developmentally disabled and daughter is chronically ill, is a resilient mother who was at times sparse with words. The student team demonstrated professionalism and thorough interviewing skills throughout the challenging client interviews. They developed a strong rapport with our client, which was demonstrated in their well done fact gathering and compelling declaration writing.

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Karla Cortez continued to work on pending ILC cases and completed a VAWA Adjustment of Status application for a young woman.

IMMIGRATION LAW CLINIC

A NOTE FROM PROFESSOR RAMOS

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e are proud of our students and know they leave the ILC clinic with a rich experience. They gained valuable interviewing skills as they tackled challenging clients—some willing and others unwilling to share their stories. They worked with various government agencies and consulted with therapists and social workers to obtain expert witness declarations and letters of support. Students developed fact investigation skills through their review of criminal court documents and child welfare reports. And, they developed their written advocacy skills through drafting detailed and persuasive client declarations and “letter briefs.”

In addition to their casework, the students collectively presented to over 160 community members at All Peoples Community Center, Homeboy Industries, Garfield High School and Oscar De La Hoya Charter School. They provided valuable information on immigration-related topics such as notario fraud, AB 540 and the DREAM Act.

ACHIEVING A GREAT SUCCESS In the Immigration Appeals Practicum

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n partnership with Munger, Tolles & Olson (MTO), we launched the Immigration Appeals Practicum with students John Guo and Christianne Macaraeg. Each student handled a Board of Immigration Appeals case under the close supervision of MTO attorneys Avi Braz and Marina Torres. The students had about one month to review the immigration court case file, record of proceedings, research and analyze case law. They crafted strong arguments and helped draft an appellate brief. In John’s case, he also prepared portions of an opposition to a motion to remand within a short timeframe.

Both students were required to get up to speed in an unfamiliar area of law and work under extreme time pressure. We are proud to report that we won both cases!

FAST FACTS n

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Fall 2010 students provided 2,600 hours of free legal services to women and children on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and U-Visa cases.

Students worked with clients from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Japan and Germany.

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Clients ranged from age 7 to 60.

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Clinic students changed the lives of 27 clients and clinic staff worked on an additional 22 cases.

CONTACT US Legal Clinic • W408 (Westmoreland Building, Fourth Floor) Southwestern Law School, 3050 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010

Children’s Rights Clinic: (213) 738-6621 • childrensrights@swlaw.edu Immigration Law Clinic: (213) 738-5574 • immigrationclinic@swlaw.edu Street Law Clinic: (213) 738-5737 • streetlaw@swlaw.edu www.swlaw.edu/academics/clinic

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STREET LAW CLINIC

Southwestern’s Street Law Clinic (SLC) students teach critical legal life skills to high school students in our Los Angeles community under the supervision of Professor Laura Cohen. Law students step into the roles of teacher, mentor, and advocate to empower at-risk youth to make better choices, overcome adversity, and build stronger futures. The participatory lessons inform the teenagers about their rights and the laws that apply to them, and provide legal information and resources they need to successfully transition to independent living and adulthood.

FALL 2010 AT A GLANCE

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uring the Fall of 2010, ten law students participated in the Street Law Clinic (SLC). The law students created engaging lesson plans that encouraged their students to grow emotionally and academically. All our classrooms had attorney guest speakers presenting on domestic violence.

The law students coordinated field trips to observe Superior Court, visit our campus and to visit college campuses. Additionally, each SLC student met individually with their students to provide resources specific to each of their students needs in various areas including housing, education and employment.

The SLC collaborates with community based organizations which enables our law students to gain an understanding of the comprehensive range of services these agencies provide for at-risk youth including residential placements, on-grounds schools, mental health services, family preservation support and other programs helping children and families. Many of the teaching sites are non-public schools, which include programs for students with learning disabilities designed to meet each child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP). Having the experience of teaching at these schools, law students better understand special education, students’ abilities and the challenges within the education system in Los Angeles.

Last semester:

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Jonathan Graham and Kyle Gurwell taught at the HathawaySycamores Community School in Alta Dena.

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Kate Lawrence and R. Kamela Laird taught adolescent girls at Aviva High School in Hollywood.

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Deborah Kahn and Kristen Schwarz taught adolescent girls at the Joan Macy School in La Verne.

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Kevin Sexton and Shannon Wainwright taught at the Vista School, located in West Los Angeles.

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Fabianna Olivares and Allison Willhite taught our Street Law class at Amanecer Community Counseling Services.

It was a successful semester as we worked closely with these five classrooms of high school students. During our classtime, in addition to preparing to teach and reviewing the law and the lesson plans, we visited Children’s Court to observe dependency proceedings, toured Central Juvenile Hall and observed delinquency proceedings at Eastlake Juvenile Court. We had many guest speakers from various legal aid agencies preparing the law students in their areas of expertise to help as they planned their own lessons. The law students each presented student-led demonstration teachings which enabled them to share creative lesson ideas with their fellow students.

SLC students came away with knowledge of substantive law and community resources, the ability to set realistic objectives and to plan lessons that achieve those objectives, and the ability to translate legal concepts so their students can understand. SLC students became more confident and effective public speakers, and will be more confident and effective lawyers.

FIRST ANNUAL SERVICE DAY

S Students sign-up to participate in Service Day

outhwestern’s first annual Service Day, part of Diversity Week in the fall, was a huge success.

In addition to law student volunteers helping with various service projects during the day, we also held trainings for future volunteer work with homeless youth, small claims matters and expungement of records.

SOUTHWESTERN’S

PUBLIC SERVICE PROGRAM (PSP)

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outhwestern encourages all students to perform at least 25 hours of pro bono public service each academic year. Students who complete 25 hours of pro bono public service in a year will receive a formal letter of recognition from the Dean. Furthermore, students who perform at least 75 hours of public service throughout their law school experience will be recognized at commencement ceremonies and a notation 'Public Service Distinction' will be placed on their law school transcript.

To qualify, public service work must be: 1. performed under supervision of a licensed attorney or faculty member; 2. students may not receive compensation or academic credit; 3. work must be law related.

We are always adding new PSP volunteer opportunities. Please visit the “Southwestern Public Service Program” TWEN page for details or stop by the Legal Clinic. Timesheets must be turned in by March 25, 2011.

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS

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he George and Katrina Woolverton Public Service Award is given annually to one graduating student in recognition of demonstrated extraordinary dedication to public interest law activities while at Southwestern. The Woolverton Award is in the amount of $10,000. The Southwestern Public Interest Law Service Award is given annually to a graduating student or students other than the Woolverton Award recipient in recognition of demonstrated significant dedication to public interest law activities while at Southwestern.

PUBLIC INTEREST OPPORTUNITIES n

Volunteers are needed for Teen Court. If you are available, contact Professor Cohen or look for future Teen Court dates through the program’s TWEN page.

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Because last year’s Justice Bus™ Spring Teen Court in the Dixon Break trip was so well received, we are doing Courtroom at Southwestern another trip this year. This outreach program helps increase access to legal justice for underserved Californians.

Our collaboration with One Justice includes two programs serving rural communities this spring: a day trip to Lancaster with NLS and Public Counsel, February 18, and the overnight trip to Paso Robles, March 31-April 1.