From Theory to Practice: Movement Lawyering to Build Collective Power

From Theory to Practice: Movement Lawyering to Build Collective Power

September 6, September 13, and September 20, 2024 

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (PT) // 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (ET)

Zoom Meeting

The immigrant rights movement needs movement lawyers now more than ever, as we face rollbacks to asylum, a growing number of anti-immigrant state laws, fractured organizing infrastructure, an increasingly difficult federal landscape, and expanding border militarization and surveillance. Conditions are intensifying, but it’s not too late to get into formation to defend and bolster communities on the frontlines. Now is the time to build up a corps of lawyers who are equipped to answer the calls of the immigrant rights movement to build long-term collective power and push for transformational change.

Whether you’re an experienced movement lawyering practitioner, just starting out, or not sure where to begin, it’s never too late to learn how to become a more principled, collaborative, and powerful long-term partner to organized communities. No matter where you work, you can apply movement lawyering principles and move beyond isolated cases toward more effective strategies for building community power. Movement lawyers work in deep collaboration with social movements, leveraging every legal hook possible to build the collective power needed to transform our political and economic systems towards human dignity, multiracial democracy, and ecological harmony. 

The National Immigration Project is pleased to offer a three-part series on movement lawyering in collaboration with Movement Law Lab, with the broader goal of growing our membership community’s movement lawyering practice. We designed this course for immigration practitioners who have an appetite to think with creativity, boldness, and rigor about what organizers need from the legal sector. 

What makes this course special?  

• Rigorous, intimate workshops. Over the course of three virtual, four-hour sessions, you’ll learn the foundational theory underlying movement lawyering, tips for working in effective partnerships, and practices to help you develop your capacities as a movement strategist.  

• Practices designed to catalyze your growth. Readings and other light assignments between sessions that will assist participants in shaping their own personal goals related to movement lawyering and allow you to dive deeper on topics discussed during the sessions. 

• Focus on real-life, practical solutions. We’ll spend the bulk of the course workshopping common movement lawyering challenges so that you can immediately operationalize what you learn.     

• Opportunity to learn in community. If you’re looking to grow alongside other social movement thinkers in a collaborative, rigorous learning environment, this course is for you!

Apply now! Space is limited so that we can foster an environment that invites participation and collaboration. Please fill out the application by Friday, May 31, 2024. You can access the application form HERE.

Who is eligible to apply? This course is only open to NIPNLG attorney members. Whether you’re a seasoned movement lawyer or just starting out, we welcome you to apply! 

If you are not a NIPNLG member but would like to participate in this course, you may sign up for a membership when you apply. You can learn more about our membership benefits and pricing here. 

NIPNLG will inform applicants of their status by June 24, 2024. In the event that we cannot offer a place in the cohort to every applicant, we will maintain a waitlist. 

Registration Fee: Applicants who are accepted into this program will be asked to pay a registration fee to NIPNLG by July 9, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET. The registration fee for this course is $350 per person. 

Tuition assistance is available based on financial hardship, and attorneys should send an email to events@nipnlg.org with the reason they are requesting financial aid. This inbox is monitored daily. 

CLE Credit: We plan to submit an application for CLE credit to the Washington State Bar Association. Individuals who are not barred in Washington will receive a uniform certificate of attendance for CLE credit.

About Movement Law Lab: Movement Law Lab brings the power of lawyers to social justice movements.  We transform the legal sector, training lawyers and legal organizations to go beyond winning cases to building collective power. We build legal infrastructure for grassroots-led progressive movements. We reimagine law, cultivating new ways to democratize, decolonize and deploy law. Together with people’s movements, we organize lawyers into a force for human dignity, multi-racial democracy, and ecological harmony.

This course is being taught by Nikki Thanos, Director of Training and Praxis. Learn more about Nikki here. 

If you have any questions, please email us at events@nipnlg.org.