Organick encourages new law faculty to reach out to the clinicians on your faculty for support, potential collaborative projects. This benefits students, and lays the foundation for meaningful friendships

Organick, Aliza

English

University of New Mexico

12-2017 
Community Engagement and Social Activism in Legal 
Aliza Organick 
University of New Mexico - School of Law 
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Aliza Organick, Community Engagement and Social Activism in Legal, AALS New Law Professors Section, 
Annual Newsletter 3 (2017). 
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AALS New Law Professors Section 
Annual Newsletter, December 2017 3 
This edition of our annual newsletter focuses on community engagement and activism by law 
professors. Our contributors were asked to share their thoughts on what this looks like for law 
professors and how it can enrich and challenge teaching and scholarship. I wish to express deep 
appreciation to our contributors for providing their unique perspectives on these topics, and 
more importantly, for engaging in the work that they are doing. We are better for their efforts. 
 
Mary Leto Pareja, Section Secretary 
Associate Professor of Law 
University of New Mexico 
mpareja@law.unm.edu 
 
 
Community Engagement and Social Activism in Legal Academia 
 
 
Aliza Organick 
Professor of Law; Associate Dean of Experiential Learning 
University of New Mexico  
 
Crossing the Doctrine-Skills Divide: The Value in Breaking Down Silos 
 
There are times that being a law professor can be a bit disorienting. This is especially true 
early in your career as you find your footing in the classroom and in a new institution. Most new 
law professors find comradeship with other newly minted law professors and with their more 
experienced colleagues who teach in similar subject areas. As you begin to build on these new 
relationships I would encourage you also reach out to the clinicians on your faculty for both 
support and potential collaborative projects. As a new law professor, I found finding those 
common spaces for collaboration with my doctrinal colleagues invaluable early in my career. 
Students benefit from these collaborative endeavors in significant ways as well. It is important 
that our students observe the ways that lawyers work together as they respond to community 
need, conduct community outreach, wrestle with difficult legal issues, and engage in varied 
approaches to problem solving.  Last, but surely not least, is that these collaborations can lay the 
foundation for deep and meaningful friendships that will sustain you over the years. 
 
Unfortunately, there remain law schools where the divide between doctrinal and clinical 
programs is still deeply felt. Although with an increased focus on the value of various forms of 
experiential learning across the curriculum, I remain hopeful that this divide will continue to 
narrow. Regardless of where your particular institution positions itself, do not lose sight of the 
value of finding ways to bridge that divide. From a clinician’s perspective, working with new 
doctrinal faculty can bring a freshness to existing clinical practices. Clinic students are very fond 
of learning about your practice experience, your skills developing policy, drafting legislation, or 
in direct client representation. If those experiences still resonate with you, you might consider 
how your experience can augment specific clinic classes. Most clinicians I have had the pleasure 
to work with over the years welcome that participation from kindred colleagues. 
 
With so much community need, there is almost always the potential for rich collaboration 
when community organizations reach out to the law school for guidance on a pressing 
community issue, or when specific organizations seek out faculty expertise in a particular area of 
 
AALS New Law Professors Section 
Annual Newsletter, December 2017 4 
law. These opportunities provide fertile ground for collaboration with clinical faculty.  One 
recent project at the University of New Mexico involved the implementation of the Real ID Act 
in New Mexico. This collaboration involved our state district court, our state legal aid 
organization and their volunteer attorney program, four out of five of our clinical sections, and 
clinic and doctrinal faculty. In this instance, a district court judge reached out to a member of our 
faculty to determine whether the law school and our clinic program might assist potential clients 
file petitions for name changes. Professor George Bach, a “doctrinal” professor who also rotates 
into our clinic, was integral to the planning of the overall project and collaborated with the 
clinicians by supervising clinic students on the day. 
 
Another recent project involved Professor Jenny Moore. Professor Moore teaches Human 
Rights, Immigration and International Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law. 
Recently, she worked as a consultant with a working group on our main campus in advance of 
the repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA). This working group requested 
very specific information on the impact of federal funding should UNM declare itself a sanctuary 
campus. Professor Moore reached out to our clinic program to find out ways the clinic could be 
involved in helping individual students with DACA matters as well as whether our clinic 
students could assist the working group with research on what if any impact becoming a 
sanctuary campus would have on the receipt of federal funding at the university.  
 
Ultimately, Professor Moore collaborated with Professor Sarah Steadman and her clinic 
students on an important presentation to the working group.  Professor Moore describes her 
experience working with Professor Steadman and the clinic students as a “wonderful opportunity 
to observe how clinicians work with the students to prepare.” She also appreciated observing 
how Professor Steadman “let the students do the work, field the questions, and use their 
knowledge and critical thinking skills” during the presentation to the working group. This 
prompted her to reflect on her own classroom teaching and, as a result, she gives her students 
more time in the classroom to work through difficult questions.  She recognizes using some of 
the clinic methodology “fosters deeper learning and reflection when less controlled by the 
professor at the podium.”  
 
These are just a couple of recent examples of doctrinal/clinic program collaboration at 
our institution. Over the years there have been many, many others. And I have no doubt they will 
continue to happen. These collaborations have clear benefits for both clinicians and doctrinal 
faculty. Working with your clinical program has the added benefit of helping you to understand 
how your clinical program fits with the overall mission of your institution. Equally as important 
is knowing that our students benefit in myriad ways as well. You might also consider how 
working in interdisciplinary spaces can inform your teaching and scholarship as you continue to 
grow as a law professor. Finally, even though it may take a while for you to feel grounded in 
your new role, I urge you to see yourself as an invaluable link in bringing together your law 
school communities.  
 
Professor Organick, a citizen of the Diné Nation, born to the Tsenijikini Clan (Cliff 
Dweller Clan), is a Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico, where she also serves as 
the Associate Dean of Experiential Learning. She is a past Chair of the AALS section on Indian 
Nations and Indigenous Peoples. She can be reached at organick@law.unm.edu. 
 
* * * * * 
 
AALS New Law Professors Section 
Annual Newsletter, December 2017 1 
 
   
Dear Colleagues, 
 
I still remember what it felt like to attend my first AALS Annual Meeting several years 
ago. I was new to our profession, and I didn’t know many people. By chance, I happened 
to wander into a panel being hosted by the Section on New Law Professors. I recall the 
atmosphere vividly. The panel was called “Developing as a Legal Scholar: Thoughts for 
New Law Professors,” and the room was jam-packed. Five distinguished academics were 
discussing how they developed into legal scholars. Their remarks were delivered with an 
eye toward aiding those of us new to the academy. They discussed how they managed to 
balance work and family commitments, how they evaluated scholarship within and 
outside their fields, and how they chose new scholarly projects to pursue. After the panel 
ended, most of the audience ran off to another panel, but I stuck around. Someone tapped 
me on the shoulder and told me that the business meeting for the Section on New Law 
Professors was about to begin. To my great surprise, I was invited to join the meeting.   
 
 
Continued on page 2 
 
 Section Officers Inside This Issue 
 
Eugene D. Mazo 
Message from the Chair page 1 
 
Community Engagement and Social Activism 
in Legal Academia, edited by Mary Leto 
Pareja 
 
Aliza Organick 
Crossing the Doctrine-Skills Divide: 
The Value in Breaking Down Silos page 3 
 
Michael A. Olivas 
Being in the Right Place at the 
Right Time and with the Right People page 5 
 
Marc-Tizoc González 
Socially Active Law Teaching: 
Lessons Learned page 7 
 
Chair:  
Eugene D. Mazo  
(Baltimore/Maryland) 
 
Chair Elect:  
Dov Waisman 
(Southwestern) 
Secretary:  
Mary Leto Pareja 
(New Mexico) 
Treasurer:  
Maybell Romero 
(Northern Illinois) 
 
 
Executive Committee Members  
Jennifer Carter-Johnson 
(Michigan State) 
Timothy Duff 
(Case Western Reserve) 
 
Paul Horwitz 
(Alabama) 
Yvonne Lindgren 
(San Francisco) 
 
Howard Katz 
(Cleveland-Marshall) 
 
 
 THIS NEWSLETTER IS A FORUM FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND IDEAS. OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE 
DO NOT REPRESENT THE POSITION OF THE SECTION OR OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN LAW SCHOOLS. 


Community Engagement and Social Activism in Legal

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