Center for Justice, in cooperation with RWU Law, launches public-interest law center to provide legal assistance, educate new attorneys

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The Center for Justice: For Rhode Islanders in Need, a New Voice for Access to Justice

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Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger4-9-2015The Center for Justice: For Rhode Islanders inNeed, a New Voice for Access to JusticePublic Affairs, Roger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationPublic Affairs, Roger Williams University, "The Center for Justice: For Rhode Islanders in Need, a New Voice for Access to Justice"(2015). Featured News Story. 484.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/484 News ArchiveThe Center for Justice: For Rhode Islanders inNeed, a New Voice for Access to JusticeCenter for Justice, in cooperation with RWU Law, launches public-interest lawcenter to provide legal assistance, educate new attorneys April 9, 2015 Public A airs Sta PROVIDENCE, R.I. – To help address the growing volume of unmet legal needs among vulnerableindividuals, families and communities in Rhode Island, representatives from the Rhode Island Centerfor Justice and the Roger Williams University School of Law gathered with elected o cials, membersof the bench and bar, and allied community organizations today to formally launch the Center forJustice, a new nonpro t public interest law center.The Center for Justice’s Board of Directors, led by Chair Miriam Weizenbaum and Vice-Chair AmatoDeLuca, joined University President Donald J. Farish, RWU Law Dean Michael J. Yelnosky and otherspeakers in describing the need for increased access to justice in Rhode Island, along with thepotential to o er new attorneys hands-on experience serving community members struggling withhousing, employment, immigration and other critical issues.“Few places in the U.S. are in greater need of these services than Rhode Island,” Weizenbaum said.“While Rhode Islanders have su ered some of the most dramatic economic hardships of the pastdecade, there is a glaring lack of access to civil legal services for those who struggle with the direconsequences of poverty such as homelessness, health impairment exacerbated by environmentalfactors, and predatory employment and consumer practices. The Center for Justice will be a voicefor those who would o en otherwise be without quali ed legal assistance.”According to Weizenbaum, the Center for Justice re ects Rhode Island’s inclusion in the growingnational movement of nonpro t legal services and social justice organizations working to  llsigni cant gaps in access to justice. She pointed speci cally to the need for legal assistance amongthe working poor and immigrants who are frequently ineligible for federally funded civil legal aid.Across the country, she noted, similar justice centers and other law school a liated programs aresucceeding in expanding the availability of legal assistance for substantial segments of thepopulation.Under the leadership of attorneys Weizenbaum and DeLuca of DeLuca & Weizenbaum, Ltd., theCenter took shape over the past 18 months. Created in cooperation with the Roger WilliamsUniversity School of Law, its mission is to ensure justice for vulnerable individuals, families andcommunities in Rhode Island through the provision of free legal services and advocacy.With early support and seed funding from the state’s legal community, RWU Law included, theCenter for Justice is now operational. Partnering with community-based organizations, the Centerfor Justice has identi ed areas of critical unmet legal need where its attorneys can support collectivee orts to improve the lives of those a ected by poverty and injustice. With a current sta  of threefull-time attorneys, the Center for Justice has undertaken initial work in the areas of housing,employment and immigration.“The Rhode Island Center for Justice promises to be a valuable tool in our e orts to meet the legalneeds of low-income families in the civil arena,” noted Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief JusticePaul A. Suttell. “Public service has always been an essential component of the legal profession; theCenter for Justice provides a model that will facilitate the ability to help fellow citizens in the besttradition of public interest law.”An innovative sta ng model for the Center, developed with the law school, features a post-graduate fellowship program open exclusively to recent RWU Law alumni. Four full-time sta attorney positions are  lled through a competitive application process by which RWU Law alumnifrom the previous  ve graduating classes are selected to work at the Center for Justice for a two-yearperiod.The fellowship expands on the continuum of experiential learning opportunities at RWU Law. Withan explicit guarantee that every quali ed law student can participate in hands-on clinical training,the School’s Feinstein Center for Pro Bono and Experiential Education o ers experiences that rangefrom work in one of four RWU Law clinics, to dozens of externships and clerkships, to project-basedPro Bono Collaborative e orts and more. It also makes RWU Law one of just more than 30 lawschools in the country to o er fellowship, residency or incubator programs that enable newlyadmitted lawyers to build the practical skills required to launch successful law practices.“The Center for Justice model is an exciting next step in the evolution of RWU Law’s overallapproach to legal education,” Yelnosky said. “It will create opportunities for some of our graduatesto have a formal period during which they receive high-quality and intensive training that will helpthem cross the bridge to practice better equipped to serve their clients. It is also consistent with theSchool of Law’s focus on the obligation of lawyers to serve those who cannot a ord legalrepresentation. There is a desperate need for more poverty lawyers in the community, and ourgraduate fellows at the Center will help meet that need. Our graduates win, and the communitywins.”Another critical component of the Center for Justice model is a community partnerships basedapproach to delivering legal services. According to Weizenbaum, the Center for Justice will buildrelationships with community-based organizations to develop legal services programming thatadvances those partners’ broader goals for social justice.Currently, the Center for Justice is assisting low-income households through partnerships withFuerza Laboral, a workers’ rights center in Central Falls; the George Wiley Center, a communityorganization in Pawtucket; and the Community Action Partnership of Providence. With thosecommunity partners, the Center is addressing legal issues related to workers’ rights, utilitytermination protection, and substandard housing conditions, respectively. The Center is alsopartnering with a network of nonpro t immigration service providers in Rhode Island to address theacute need for legal representation among unaccompanied immigrant children seeking legal statusin the U.S.“The Rhode Island Center for Justice represents a desperately needed source of legal assistance forlow-income Rhode Islanders,” said Melissa Husband, executive director of the Community ActionPartnership of Providence. “As a direct provider of services to the poor and vulnerable in ourcommunity, I witness this need on a daily basis and am convinced that the Center for Justice will be avital partner to CAPP and a valued resource for many.”

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The Center for Justice: For Rhode Islanders in Need, a New Voice for Access to Justice

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