Housing Justice Clinic

Students in the Housing Justice Clinic provide representation to and advocate on behalf of vulnerable individuals and communities at risk of losing their homes. Employing a movement-lawyering model, the clinic works closely with tenant unions and other community organizations to identify cases and matters that are most likely to make an impact. Students in the course work closely with their clients and with community partners. They learn how to become skilled litigators through cases that impact real people (chiefly eviction lawsuits). They also learn how individual cases complement broader organizing campaigns and relate to goals beyond the individual case. The clinic provides significant lawyering training to future practitioners and teaches students how to advocate effectively for public interest causes through coalition building and creative law-and-organizing strategy.
 Each week includes two seminar sessions in which students learn about the housing landscape in Los Angeles County, the nuts and bolts of eviction cases, different legal tools and models of change relevant to housing advocacy, and ethical and professionalism issues that arise in this work. In addition, students are expected to spend at least three hours each week at the UCLA Labor Center building in MacArthur Park doing casework (including client meetings) and meeting with the clinic director and staff attorney for supervision purposes. Students should expect to spend 2-4 hours each week on background readings and course assignments for the seminar, and another 10-14 hours focused on clinic responsibilities, including conducting client meetings, appearing in court, attending community meetings, doing research, assisting with clinic management, and handling other casework responsibilities. Some weeks will likely be heavier than others depending on client needs and case deadlines.
In Spring 2027, it will be possible for students who took the clinic in Fall 2026 to continue as advanced students.