Rebellious Lawyering and Clinic Interference

By Virgil Wiebe

Early in the life of our immigration clinic we represented a human trafficking victim and sued the trafficker in federal court under the 13th amendment and various other grounds. One day, the defendant (then a doctor at a prominent hospital) walked into the dean’s office demanding we drop the suit because, among other reasons, she, too, was Catholic. The dean heard her out, and then politely showed her the door. I appreciated that support, and now strive to provide similar support quietly to our faculty engaged in advancing social justice.

Rebellious Lawyering marks its 25th anniversary this year, with a number of events scheduled at the AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore. Another important piece for those supportive of rebellious lawyering is Robert Kuehn and Bridget McCormack’s Lessons from Forty Years of Interference in Law School Clinics, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1756908, which came out in 2011. I revisited the piece recently.

As clinic director at a Catholic institution with faculty that straddle a wide swath of the political spectrum, I sometimes field the flak provoked by actions taken to advance differing visions of social justice. More often, our dean absorbs and responds to inquiries, consulting with me to provide accurate information about what’s happening.

On the most divisive political and social issues of the day, our faculty and clinics may take very public stands or work very quietly in behalf of clients. Whether with a megaphone in the middle of an interstate, at a public event at the White House, at the UN, in amicus briefs, or in small civil actions, our clinics are not unique in sometimes provoking intense anger, indignation, and opposition.

Our faculty include a self-described agitator deeply engaged in Black Lives Matter and the new civil rights movement, a former federal prosecutor who has turned against the death penalty and the over-incarceration of drug offenders, a defender of religious liberties, and a former congressional candidate and defender of traditional Catholic values. As you might imagine, their work and the work of their students occasionally stirs the pot.

Bob and Bridget’s piece is worth another read, especially for clinical faculty, deans, directors, university presidents and others who stand behind the scenes.