The Value of Community-Centered Lawyering – Mills Legal Clinic of Stanford Law School

Working on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) issues over the clinic quarter was an extremely fulfilling experience in so many ways. Most of our efforts focused on our partners in the Caribbean, but we also had some opportunities to contribute to work being done in East Africa. Over the course of the quarter, there were certainly difficult moments, but I left the clinic feeling extremely proud to have assisted our partners in a way they felt was meaningful and impactful. This experience helped me truly appreciate the finer details of client- and community-centered lawyering, and I am so grateful to have been able to participate.

Coming into the Clinic, one of my main goals was to learn how to build effective relationships with clients and partners. So much of our time in law school is spent on analyzing law and doctrine from afar, meaning we rarely get the chance to practice the interpersonal skills needed to be effective advocates. To be able to do so through this Clinic was especially meaningful because it was all conducted through a justice-oriented lens.

I left the clinic feeling extremely proud to have assisted our partners in a way they felt was meaningful and impactful.

The bulk of our time was spent on a Jamaican case in front of a regional human rights body. From the outset, prioritizing our partners’ needs and voices was the main object of our work. In essence, we wanted our participation to serve and not harm them. By working to build and strengthen coalitions, we were able to prove our trustworthiness, which was perhaps the most important part of this experience.

By the end of the quarter, our team, alongside law school clinics from the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania, was able to produce an amicus brief for submission to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Personally, I felt very proud to put our clinic’s name on that brief and to contribute to such an important case.

It was an immense privilege to be part of the International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic, and it was easily the most significant learning experience I have had while at Stanford.