Los Angeles Public Interest Law Journal

LOS ANGELES PUBLIC INTEREST LAW JOURNAL

1 L.A. PUB. INT. L.J. 4

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ESSAY—LAW AND ORGANIZING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ORGANIZERS: FINDING A SHARED THEORY OF SOCIAL CHANGE*
Betty Hung

          In recent years, much has been written about law and organizing, a model of social change lawyering that endorses collaboration between lawyers and organizers, as well as the utilization of legal strategies to advance grassroots community organizing. Critical analysis has focused, in large part, on the role of law and lawyers within the law and organizing model. For example, law and organizing is understood as a way to re-envision the attorney-client relationship to promote client agency and empower clients; reflect on innovative methods of lawyering beyond conventional legal practice; and analyze the efficacy and limitations of legal strategies in social movements. Proponents of the law and organizing model posit that legal strategies, when pursued in combination with and in support of grassroots organizing campaigns, are more effective than legal strategies alone in both empowering communities and achieving social justice goals.

         In practice, however, tensions between lawyers and organizers persist and, at times, hinder campaigns for social justice. There are long standing critiques, particularly on the part of organizers, that lawyers, even those who are progressive, undermine community organizing and collective action. Rather than building the power of marginalized communities, lawyers tend to create dependency on lawyers and legal strategies without altering structural inequalities and the status quo. Notably, in my experience, community organizers believe that these criticisms are applicable even to lawyers and lawyering within the “law and organizing” model. The reality of these on-the-ground conflicts between organizers and lawyers must be addressed if “law and organizing” is to be effective and sustainable as a model for bringing movement players together to achieve systemic change.



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