Author: Dean

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Resources about the Role of Lawyers in Social Movements

People who are considering going to law school are already started or finished law school ask me about this question a lot. Here are some of the things I have put together over the years that may be useful.

Here’s a captioned video from a recent presentation at Northwestern: “Fighting to Win: The Roles of Lawyering and Law Reform in Liberation Struggles”.

Here’s a captioned video of a May 2021 conversation with Stanford Law students about the role of lawyers in movements and how people who are in law school or have graduated from law school can be of service to movements. Here is a captioned video recording from an event titled “What Every Activist Should Know Before Going to Law School” hosted by the University of Washington’s Legal Pathways program in April 2020.

And finally, about ten years ago I published this short essay in the lefty law journal Unbound about the myths that mislead a lot of people who want social change to think they should go to law school, and the realities people should know before going. I think it is still a pretty good summary of the issues.