National Lawyers Guild

 

Join us virtually on May 21st & May 22nd, 2022 for two days of practical skill building & action-oriented discussion with regional abolition leaders. Fantastic for law students & new grads as well as long-time NLG members. 

 

Accessibility Note: We are happy to arrange translation, ASL interpreters, closed captioning, audio description, large print, etc. Please just indicate your access needs when you register.

 

Day 1 features 3 CLE's aimed at teaching tactics for movement lawyers, particularly those whose work centers the strategic defense of activists. 

 

Day 2 will kick off with a keynote from Jenipher Jones Bonino, whose translation of abolitionist principles into the work of attorneys, legal workers and activists is not to be missed. Day 2 will include an interactive panel with Sandra Freeman, Natali Segovia, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, and Joey Chase, all attorneys whose work is rooted in the Southwest tradition of abolition. Day 2 will also include a roundtable with new grads and organizers intended to spark inspiration and collaboration. 

 

Please see below for a more detailed description of CLE programming and for more information about our presenters. Note: Day 1 will convene at 9:00MST and will adjourn by 3:30MST; Day 2 will convene at 10:00MST and will adjourn by 1:00MST. 

 

Strategies and Tactics for Movement Lawyering (1.5 hours, CLE)

Panel of attys and legal workers share motions, trial strategies, and other effective tools for representing clients with political goals. Materials will include and revolve around the book “Representing Radicals: A Guide for Lawyers & Movements," authored by the Tilted Scales Collective. 

 

Topics include:

• Understanding a client’s political goals 

• Discovery Strategies

• Constitutional Defenses 

• Spotting surveillance and police misconduct

• Necessity defenses

 

11:00am Ethics and Political Representation (1.5 hours ETHICS CLE)

This session focuses on ethical considerations in movement legal representation including joint defense, political trials, and client counseling for cooperating plea agreements. 

 

1:00pm State Repression and Movement Defense (1 hour, CLE)

A popular education workshop on the history of state repression of social movements for attorneys, activists, and legal workers. 

• What is the history of state repression

• What are strategies for safeguarding social movements

• How can lawyers, legal workers, and activists collaborate

 

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