Housing Advocacy and Litigation Clinic
Created in 1968, Rising for Justice (formerly named D.C. Law Students in Court) is the oldest and one of the most highly regarded clinical programs in the city. It is a unique consortium program in which students from all D.C. law schools participate together while receiving academic credit from their own institutions. At Rising for Justice, we seek to build a better tomorrow by teaching law students to be life-long advocates for justice.
UDC Law students enrolled in the Housing Advocacy and Litigation Clinic participate alongside students from other D.C. law schools at Rising for Justice. Through the Clinic, students develop practical and fundamental lawyering skills while providing legal representation, assistance, and counseling to tenants in the District of Columbia. The program offers a learning environment that focuses on case preparation, courtroom experience and one-on-one working relationships with experienced instructors. Supervision and instruction emphasize litigation strategy, the skills necessary for effective lawyering, and client-centered representation.
Rising for Justice
901 4th Street NW, Suite 6000
Washington, D.C. 20001
Tel: (202) 638-4798
Fax: (202) 638-0304
Website: https://risingforjustice.org/our-work/law-school-clinics/housing-advocancy-litigation-clinic/
Interim Director of the Housing Advocacy and Litigation Clinic dyellin@risingforjustice.org 202.424.2229
Director of the Tenant Justice Project dclark@risingforjustice.org 202.638.4798, ext. 210
Law students prevent evictions, preserve affordable housing, and secure tenants’ rights under federal and District law. The program works to fight the consequences of poverty, to prevent homelessness, and to combat the affordable housing crisis in the District of Columbia while teaching law students to become effective advocates. Under the supervision of clinical instructors, students are responsible for all aspects of litigation: interviewing clients and witnesses, conducting investigations, preparing pleadings, engaging in settlement negotiations, and conducting all motions hearings and trials pursuant to the Superior Court’s student practice rule. Students enrolled in the Housing Advocacy and Litigation Clinic (HALC) represent clients at hearings before D.C. Superior Court’s Landlord & Tenant Branch and Civil Actions Branch.
There is a mandatory orientation at the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in HALC complete their casework and attend clinic seminar classes at the Rising for Justice office, located a short walk from the Gallery Place metro station at 901 4th St. NW, Suite 6000, Washington, DC 20001. The clinic provides students with a unique opportunity to practice law in the context of a dynamic legal services program with dedicated and intensive attorney supervision.
Rising for Justice is a separate and independent agency and is not part of UDC David A. Clarke School of Law. Students participate in the clinic pursuant to an agreement. Clients represented by Rising for Justice are not clients of the School of Law.
