Social Movement Lawyering Practicum LAW-643

Note: This course was formerly titled Public Interest Housing Practicum.

Movement lawyering is when lawyers work collaboratively with social movements to build power and achieve systemic change. Through the burgeoning movement for property tax justice, this course will introduce students to movement lawyering.

Since 2009, 1 in 3 Detroit homes have been subject to property tax foreclosure. More troubling, the City assessed the majority of Detroit homes at rates that violated the Michigan Constitution, placing the unprecedented number of property tax foreclosures in disrepute. The problem, however, goes beyond Detroit. Racialized property tax injustice is a national racial justice issue that our country has yet to confront. During our practicum, students will work collaboratively with the Institute for Law & Organizing’s (the Institute) inaugural master campaign–the Coalition for Property Tax Justice (illegalforeclosures.org)–to end racialized property tax inequity in America.

This is a 3 unit course with an enrollment limit of 8 students. The course requires completion of a 20-page final paper, which fulfills the upper-division writing requirement. The course also satisfies Gould’s practical experience requirement. Students will present their proposed projects on the last day of the coursework portion of the class, then work with the Coalition for Property Tax Justice over the rest of the semester to complete their projects.