Employment Civil Rights Clinical Workshop
Spring term, Block M
W 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Mr. Steve Churchill
2 classroom credits LAW-35312A Spring
2, 3, or 4 required clinical credits LAW-35312C Spring
2 optional clinical credits Winter
This workshop will examine employment civil rights, with a focus on the effective enforcement of the right to be free from discrimination based on protected characteristics such as race and sex. All students will have a clinical placement, either at the Employment Civil Rights Clinic of the WilmerHale Legal Services Center or at externships with private firms, advocacy groups, or government agencies (such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Subject to availability, there may be up to three placements extending over the Winter and Spring Terms with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C., to be supervised by Michael Foreman, Deputy Director of Legal Programs and Director of the Employment Discrimination Project for the Lawyers' Committee. All placements will include exposure to some aspect of employment civil rights and will play an important role in bringing diverse perspectives to the workshop. In addition to surveying the relevant law, reviewing empirical information about the prevalence of civil rights violations, and evaluating current enforcement strategies, the workshop will require completion of an individual or group project. Projects could include some combination of empirical research, legal analysis, program evaluation, or other approaches to examining and improving the effectiveness of existing civil rights statutes, doctrine, and enforcement measures.
A spring or winter-spring clinical practice component is required of all students. Enrollment will occur during clinical registration. Please refer to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical) for clinical course registration dates and early add/drop deadlines.