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Updated: March 2007
The Inequality and Poverty Law Focus Area provides a range of courses dealing with the problems of low-income people in our society. It includes two foundational courses and a range of more specialized substantive and skills courses, and it culminates with a capstone seminar.
The Inequality and Poverty Law Focus Area is designed to provide students with a broad exposure to the range of legal issues that arise for people living in or threatened with poverty. The courses are arranged to allow students to attain a deeper understanding of the interlocking and complex problems of poverty in America. Skills component courses, which provide students with real experiences of the difficulties that poor people face in our legal system, are a crucial element of this focus. Ultimately, the focus leads to a capstone seminar course, which requires students to draw together and reflect on the various courses and experiences they have had throughout law school. We expect students to arrive at a more sophisticated understanding of the problems of poverty and the legal system’s contribution to both the creation of societal inequalities and to solutions.
Students might elect to take this focus area for a variety of reasons. Some students may anticipate a career providing legal services to the low-income population. Students who hope to practice in small firms may also wish to elect this focus area because many of the issues studied in these courses arise in any setting where a lawyer represents a wide range of individual clients. Other students may choose this focus because of a general concern about issues of social justice, which are at the fore in this area of law. Still others may simply wish to engage in a sustained examination of legal efforts to address a critical social problem.
The foundational courses are Administrative Law and Poverty Law. Administrative Law is an essential introduction to the focus area, as most of the substantive courses of importance to poverty law are administrative law topics and most of the public assistance programs are administered by governmental agencies. Poverty Law provides students with an overview of the nature and causes of poverty as well as of the significant legal doctrines and devices affecting poor people. While these courses are not, strictly speaking, prerequisites, students will benefit from taking them early on in the sequence of courses.
The required non-foundational courses are Public Benefits Law and either Poverty Law Seminar or a Poverty Law Independent Study. Public Benefits Law examines the range of benefits programs (welfare, Social Security, Medicare, etc.) that are -- sometimes -- available to poor people. While not a foundational course, Public Benefits Law is at the heart of Poverty Law. This course could be taken at any time during the second or third year of law school. By contrast, the Poverty Law Seminar or Poverty Law Independent Study is a capstone course, designed to promote synthesis and reflection on all that has come before it. It is expected that this course will be taken at the end of the third year of law school.
Exposure to real-life problems of poverty law is essential to the focus. Students must take at least one skills course. Skills courses range from 6-credit courses (Youth Advocacy Clinic or Family Law Clinic) to 3-4 credit clinics and externships (Administrative Law Clinic or an Inequality and Poverty Law Externship). The experience and skills gained from these courses are an essential part of the Inequality and Poverty Law Focus Area. Students are, of course, free to take more than one skills course.
Electives include Child, Family and State, Elder Law, Environmental Justice Seminar, Health Law, Housing Law & Policy Seminar, Immigration Law, Landlord/Tenant Law, Latinos & the Law, Law and Mental Health, Public Health Law, and Race and the Law. Students completing the Inequality and Poverty Law Focus Area must take at least two of these courses. We have also included a list of additional courses that might be of interest, although they are not required for, and do not count towards, this focus area.
| Janet Ainsworth | Child, Family and State |
| Joaquin Avila | Latinos & the Law |
| David Boerner | Administrative Law |
| Lisa Brodoff* | Administrative Law Clinic, Elder Law |
| Margaret Chon | Race and the Law |
| Paul Holland | Youth Advocacy Clinic |
| Betsy Hollingsworth | Family Law Clinic |
| Jack Kirkwood | Administrative Law |
| Raven Lidman | Youth Advocacy Clinic |
| Henry McGee | Housing and Community Development |
| Catherine O'Neill | Environmental Justice Seminar |
| Julie Shapiro | Family Law, Poverty Law Seminar |
| Ron Slye | Poverty Law |
| Ken Wing | Health Law |
*Focus Area Chair
| Stanley Block | Law and Mental Health |
| Todd Carlisle | Poverty Law |
| Mark Chattin | Landlord/Tenant Law |
| Michael Finkle | Law and Mental Health |
| Jennie Laird | Domestic Violence |
| Robert Pauw | Immigration Law |
| Elizabeth Schott | Public Benefits Law |
| Paul Soreff | Immigration Law |
Plan the completion of your focus area with a focus area tracking form.
Administrative Law (3 cr)
Poverty Law (3 cr)
Public Benefits Law (3 cr) and
Poverty Law Seminar (3 cr) or
Poverty Law Independent Study (2 cr)
Administrative Law Clinic (3 cr)
Family Law Clinic (6 cr)
Immigration Law Clinic (1 cr)
Youth Advocacy Clinic (6 cr)
Inequality & Poverty Law Externship (3-4 cr)
Child, Family and State (3 cr)
Domestic Violence (2 cr)
Elder Law (3 cr)
Family Dissolution and Related Issues (3 cr)
Environmental Justice Seminar (2 cr)
Health Law I (3 cr)
Housing Law & Policy Seminar (2 cr)
Immigration Law (3 cr)
Landlord/Tenant Law (2 cr)
Latinos & the Law (3 cr)
Law and Mental Health (3 cr)
Public Heath Law (2 cr)
Race & the Law (2-3 cr)
Students pursuing the Inequality and Poverty Law Focus Area may find that related courses not strictly within the focus area are of interest. These courses include the following:
Constitutional Litigation
Consumer Law
Family Dissolution
Hazardous Wastes and Toxics Regulation
Legislation and Legal Process
Legislative Seminar
Students pursuing the Inequality and Poverty Law Focus Area are strongly encouraged to volunteer their time through the Access to Justice Institute (or to pursue other pro bono/volunteer opportunities). The work of the Access to Justice Institute reflects the mission of the Seattle University School of Law: to lead its students toward a lifetime in law at the service of justice for all. ATJI connects the law school to the community at large, collaborating with hundreds to attorneys, judges and advocates from every field and drawing more than 300 student volunteers each year. What started in 1999 as a think-tank style consortium on social justice has evolved into a sophisticated center of legal activism, enabling students to connect their classroom learning to real clients, cases and attorneys while providing invaluable services to low-income communities. More information on volunteer opportunities through the Access to Justice Institute can be found at www.law.seattleu.edu/accesstojustice.
The mission of the Seattle Journal for Social Justice (SJSJ) is to promote critical interdisciplinary discussions on urgent problems of social justice, including exploring the often-conflicting meanings of justice that arise in a diverse society. The Seattle Journal for Social Justice is a peer-reviewed, student-edited, interdisciplinary journal. It publishes writings that reflect theoretical, literary and hands-on approaches toward achieving social justice. SJSJ publishes traditional academic articles as well as non-traditional formats such as narrative, commentary, interview, essay and artwork. More information on student opportunities with SJSJ can be found at www.law.seattleu.edu/sjsj.
The Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) is an all-volunteer organization run by Seattle University law students. PILF is committed to increasing awareness of the rewards, challenges, opportunities, and needs in public interest law. Recognizing the responsibility that members of the legal profession have in working to serve severely underrepresented legal needs, PILF engages in a number of projects, including the Summer Grant Program and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program. More information on PILF can be found at www.law.seattleu.edu/pilf.