Legal Clinic News

Miller, McKanders and Jeffrey discuss their public interest legal work with David Plazas, director of opinion and engagement for USAToday Network Tennessee, in this 20-minute podcast. Miller is the Assistant Dean and Martha Craig Daughtrey Director of Public Interest, McKanders directs the Immigration Practice Clinic, and Jeffrey will earn his J.D. and Ph.D. in law and economics in 2023. Read More

In a column published online at The Conversation, Prusak explains why providing more tenants facing evication with access to a lawyer could be the key to keeping more people in their homes. Prusak is an associate clinical professor of law. She launched Vanderbilt's Housing Law Clinic in spring 2021. Read More

Wesley Dozier ’19 (BA’16) is the Equal Justice Works Fellow at Just City in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. His work at Just City has adapted to the realities of practicing during a pandemic. “I felt like individual representation wasn’t as effective in changing what needs… Read More

During the fall 2020 semester, the Turner Family Community Enterprise Clinic collaborated with Law for Black Lives to explore ways of increasing Black land ownership and community wealth. Law for Black Lives is a network of legal advocates for Black Lives Matter and related social movements. Read More

Stress. Burnout. These words are all too familiar to both law students and legal professionals. People working in the legal profession need to develop insights into how these play out in their professional and personal lives to build the skill of resilience. I should know. I am a former lawyer… Read More

Funmi Akinnawonu entered law school planning to pursue a public interest career. Her experiences at Vanderbilt–particularly her work in the Immigration Practice Clinic–solidified her interest. She spent the year after graduating from law school as a George Barrett Social Justice Fellow with the Mississippi Center for Justice in Jackson… Read More

In Spring 2021, Jennifer Prusak launched… Read More

By: Jackson Hill This semester I externed working on post-conviction relief in death penalty cases with the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs in Austin, Texas. This experience caused me to reflect on the concept and application of the “future dangerousness” doctrine in capital cases.   The United States death penalty… Read More

Each year the clinic awards the Carl J. Ruskowski Clinical Legal Education award to the clinic student, who in her representation of clients in the law school’s clinical program, demonstrates excellence in the practice of law and best exemplifies the highest standards of the legal profession. This year the award… Read More

This year marks Vanderbilt Legal Clinic’s 50th year of providing pro bono representation through its clinical faculty and student attorneys. Vanderbilt Law Professor Junius Allison, credited with beginning the Vanderbilt Legal Clinic in 1971. The founding of VLC in 1971 by Junius Allison was grounded in community-centered lawyering. Allison was… Read More