Epstein: In solidarity with Northwestern Law’s clinical programs

Guest Post by Deborah Epstein, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Gender, Violence, and Law; Co-Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic, and Co-Director of Clinical Pedagogy Programs at Georgetown Law

I write to increase awareness of the congressional subpoena sent on March 27, 2025, to Northwestern University, specifically focused on the client representation work of the law school’s Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic and its faculty director, Professor Sheila Bedi. The subpoena comes from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and is attached here; you can also read a related Fox News report here.

The letter states that:

[T]here are indications that Northwestern has used its taxpayer-supported institutional resources for troubling purposes. The [Clinic] is providing free legal representation in a civil suit to the organizers of an anti-Israel blockade of highway traffic to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. This blockade resulted in the arrest of 40 participants. The fact that Northwestern, a university supported by billions in federal funds, would dedicate its resources to support this illegal, antisemitic conduct raises serious questions.

It goes on to highlight other aspects of the clinic’s work:

The [Clinic], led by clinical professor of law Sheila A. Bedi, uses Northwestern’s name and resources to engage in progressive-left political advocacy. The clinic describes itself as working ‘in collaboration with social justice movements on legal and policy strategies aimed at redressing some of the most pressing, urgent issues of our time—namely over-policing and mass imprisonment.’ Students can receive academic credit with the support of federal student aid for engaging in this political advocacy in Northwestern Law’s ‘Movement Lawyering’ class. The course description explains that students work with ‘collectives and community organizers’ on ‘creating a more just Chicago’ on matters such as a ‘court order aimed at transforming the Chicago Police Department.’

The subpoena then demands that the law school provide the Committee with:

1. All written policies, procedures, and guidance relating to the function of legal clinics at

Northwestern Law, including any written guidance on what constitutes appropriate work,

and direction on appropriate client representations;

2. A detailed budget for the Bluhm Legal Clinic, including detailed budgets for its more

than 20 clinics and 12 centers.

3. A list of the sources of Bluhm Legal Clinic’s funding, including the funding for each of

its centers and clinics;

4. A list of all the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic’s payments to people or

groups not employed by Northwestern and any of its clinics and centers since 2020; and

5. All hiring materials and performance reviews for Sheila A. Bedi.

I share this because this is a time—if ever there was one—for clinicians across the country to stand together and find ways to present a united front to protect our clients, our programs, our students, and each other. The April AALS clinical conference in Baltimore would be a perfect place for us to gather and strategize about how to best continue these traditions in the current political climate.

I have long admired the strength, supportiveness, and strategic sophistication of our wonderful community of clinicians. No conference session proposed last fall could possibly be as important as finding ways to respond to this moment of existential crisis. This subpoena will, of course, be the first of many. I am confident that we will take a collective stand and support Sheila, Northwestern, and our professional mission.