Public Interest News
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2020 graduates Joe Sandford and Willoe DeFuccio named Gideon’s Promise Fellows
Sandford will join the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office in Knoxville, Tennessee; DeFuccio will join the Mecklenberg Defenders in Charlotte, North Carolina. Read MoreMay. 4, 2020
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16 members of the Class of 2020 complete Pro Bono Pledge
Amber Banks ’20 completed 611 pro bono hours as a VLS student. Eunice Lim ’21 and Jackson Hill ’22 were also recognized for leading their classes in pro bono hours with 299 and 99 hours, respectively. Read MoreMay. 1, 2020
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VLS Pro Bono Spring Break team works at Just City in Memphis with Wesley Dozier ’19
Dozier is working at Just City as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. He supervised a team of students who worked on expungement cases, participating a Court Watch program, and supported other criminal justice advocacy initiatives. Read MoreApr. 21, 2020
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VLS Pro Bono Spring Break team works at Mississippi Center for Justice
Students worked in an expungement clinic, investigated policing practices to support impact litigation, researched the criminalization of HIV and supported other legal advocacy initiatives. Read MoreApr. 15, 2020
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VLS Office of Public Interest partners with Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors to offer immigration intake clinics
Twelve students are providing more than 420 hours of pro bono legal work through Woodbine Immigration Intake Clinics scheduled throughout the academic year at a local church. Read MoreFeb. 14, 2020
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Stanton Foundation First Amendment clinic settles case in a win for clients
Clinic students served as co-counsel in Human Rights Defense Center v. Marshall County, Tennessee, which claimed that the county sheriff’s department engaged in unconstitutional censorship. Read MoreFeb. 9, 2020
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Susan Kay ’79 honored with “Lifetime Achievement Award” by ACLU of Tennessee
Kay, who is associate dean for experiential education, has taught at VLS since 1980 and established the law school's first clinic. The award recognizes her lifetime dedication to criminal justice reform and legal advocacy, which includng successfully challenging Nashville's jail conditions. She was honored on Nov. 14. Read MoreNov. 14, 2019
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First Amendment Clinic files amicus brief in Georgia v. Public Resource addressing public access to state law
Supreme Court case addresses the right of citizens to freely access official statutory codes as a means of ensuring effective participation in democratic self-government. Read MoreOct. 17, 2019
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Amicus brief co-authored by Jessica Clarke asserts that Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender identity
Clarke and her co-authors argue that the Title VII prohibition on discrimination based on sex also means employers cannot discriminate against employees based on sexual orientation or transgender identity. Read MoreOct. 4, 2019
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Panelists Danny Glover, David Cole and Bruce Raynor to discuss political activism and advocacy at Vanderbilt Law
The 2019 George Barrett Social Justice Lecture, “Political Activism, Legal Advocacy and Labor Organizing: A Conversation on Creating Change,” is a panel discussion featuring actor/activist Danny Glover, ACLU Legal Director David Cole and labor leader Bruce Raynor. Read MoreSep. 19, 2019