A2J Workshops and Public Engagement

In March 2022, the Law School organized and hosted the A2J Project’s inaugural A2J Workshop: Spotlight on Housing. That event brought together community leaders, legal services lawyers, advocates, and law school faculty, staff, alumni and students to engage in dialogue centering on the critical importance of housing access, the current housing crisis in New York, the status of “right to counsel” in eviction cases in Westchester (expected to be formally enacted and rolled out soon) and NYS more broadly, and public service careers in housing law.

The interactive workshop portion provided a forum to discuss innovative ways the law school and its students and community partners are and can continue contributing to efforts to address the gaps in housing access in our community through pro bono and other community engagement, including creating a pipeline of law graduates trained in housing work and other ideas Haub Law could build upon. Many of those ideas generated in part from that program have come to fruition over the past year through broadened PILC/A2J Project Pro Bono collaborations. A video of the panel portion from the Inaugural A2J Workshop is available to watch.

The Second Annual A2J Workshop took place in March 22023, and focused on the theme Voting, Democracy and the Law. The program featured a panel moderated by Prof. Diamond that included the following leading national and New York voting and election law experts and voting access and engagement advocates: Sophia Lin Lakin, the Interim Co-Director of the (national) ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, Perry Grossman, Supervising Attorney for NY Civil Liberties Union, Jarret Berg, Founder of VoteEarlyNY.org, and the Brianna Cea, Executive Director at Generation Vote, as well as a brief pre-recorded video message for the Haub Law community from March For Our Lives co-founder and activist David Hogg about the importance of youth engagement on matters of critical importance, followed by table discussions using a discussion guide for live attendees. A video of the panel portion from the Second Annual A2J Workshop is available to watch.

Professor Elyse Diamond assisted in coordinating and co-moderated a Workshop Session at the NYS Commission on Access to Justice on March 9, 2023. The Workshop entitled: Legal Knowledge, Cultural Competency and Life Experience through Sustained Community Pro Bono Engagement explored best practices in implementing innovative co-curricular law school access to justice pro bono and broader community engagement projects, such as Legal Hand Call-In Centers, LiveHelp and the Pro Bono Scholars Program, including sharing lessons learned, discussing the unique enrichment and benefits these programs can bring to legal institutions and law students, and sharing advice on how to advocate for and support these expanded offerings at your school or organization.

Professor Elyse Diamond recently completed a 2-year term on the National Advisory Committee for Equal Justice Works (well-known Washington DC based national organization).