National Lawyers Guild: University of Baltimore Chapter

12/08/2020

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Anti-Repression. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

Since the uprising started over the summer, protesters have been arrested, harassed, and targeted by the state. Many might ask what we can do in response to this type of repression.

This Thursday Law 4 Black Lives DC is hosting an anti-repression training. Come hear from a federal criminal defense attorney on your rights and ways to fight against State and Federal Repression.

The training is Thursday 6:30pm to 830pm

Register here https://tinyurl.com/y55pltbo

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Anti-Repression. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

11/08/2020

UB Law,
Please join us TODAY at 7:00pm as our organizations make a joint commitment to focus on bettering the quality of life for all students – together.
We will not accept the status quo. We want to hear from you!
Zoom: https://ubalt.zoom.us/s/96815689159
Ni’Jah Richardson, President, Black Law Students Association
Autumn James, Vice President, Black Law Students Association
Miranda Walker, President, Q***r Equity Council
Kyle Coleman, President, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
Arriana Sajjad, Vice President, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
Paola Flores, President, Immigration Law Association
Sabrina Marquez, President, Latin American Law Student Association
John Cardozo, Vice President, Latin American Law Student Association
Katelyn Keegan, President, Disabled Law Students Association
Shea Roodberg, President, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
Cooper Gerus, President, Students for Public Interest
Thank you in advance to the following organizations for reaching out and joining our efforts this evening:
Jewish Law Students Association; International Law Society; Society for Equity in Education; Criminal Law Association; American Constitution Society; National Lawyers Guild; and Military and Government Association!
Image Descriptor: Flyer that says, “Be the Change.”

10/07/2020

09/21/2020

Watch “Movement Lawyering with the NLG” and “Staying Radical in Law School” on the Vimeo page https://www.nlg.org/civicrm/mailing/url/?u=17058&qid=4909422
and on the NLG website https://www.nlg.org/civicrm/mailing/url/?u=17059&qid=4909422. These webinars cover the culture of legal education, how to survive and thrive in law school, and how to prepare for a career as a movement lawyer!

09/19/2020

09/19/2020

Building Movement Project and SolidarityIs are launching the Solidarity Semester, a free five-week series on social change roles and solidarity practices especially tailored for young people ages 18-25 who are interested in honing their awareness and building their skills to address the pressing structural issues facing our country.

The Solidarity Semester includes two one-hour sessions every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays (6pm EST/3pm PST) between September 15 and October 15. On Tuesdays, we will be on Zoom, and on Thursdays, we will be on Instagram Live in conversation with movement leaders including Ahmad Abuznaid, Greisa Martinez, Judith Browne-Dianis, Alex Tom, and Janeen Comenote.

Here are two quick links to learn more:

1. An FAQ about the Solidarity Semester
2. The link to register for the series.

09/09/2020

PLAN clerkships afford law students unique opportunities to gain practical legal experience as fully integrated members of legal response teams, and to impart what is frequently life-transforming impact with people inside through the allocation of 3-5 pro bono hours per week. (Senior Clerks commit to 5-7 hours per week for two semesters, or 10-15 hours per week for one.) PLAN routinely certifies pro bono hours for PLAN clerks, and PLAN attorneys supervise clerks for externship or clinic credit upon request.

This year's scope of work includes PLAN's emergency COVID-19 response and legal services to prisoner activists who are suffering retaliation due to their peaceful participation in the 2020 national prison strike (information about our defense of jailhouse lawyers and prisoner activists following the 2018 strike can be found here).

Law students who are interested in applying for an autumn placement with PLAN should submit application materials to this address as soon as practicable. https://www.nlg.org/plan/volunteering/clerkship/

09/02/2020

Movement Lawyering with the NLG
Wednesday, September 2 @ 4pm ET/1 pm PT

Register: bit.ly/MovementLawyering

Join NLG legal practitioners and educators for a webinar on movement lawyering and how to use the law to support social movements! These skills are often not taught in law schools, so Guild members will offer an overview of what it means to be a movement lawyer and examples of careers that are in line with these principles.

Speakers:

Cait De Mott Grady (she/her) [Moderator] is the outgoing NLG Student National Vice President who works as a public defender in Detroit and loves growing giant sunflowers. Cait’s movement lawyering framework and experience are grounded in her lifetime of involvement in the Catholic Worker movement and the anti-war and anti-nuclear movement.
Azadeh Shahshahani (she/her) is Legal & Advocacy Director at Project South and a past president of the NLG. Azadeh has worked for 15 years in the U.S. South to protect & defend the human rights of immigrants and Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities.
Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan (she/her) is Senior Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a national racial justice and immigrants’ rights organization, and is past President of the National Lawyers Guild.
Elena L. Cohen (she/her) is the current president of the NLG, and a partner at a small firm focusing on the needs of LGBTQ people and people who have experienced police misconduct.
Sarah David Heydemann (she/her) is an organizer turned lawyer who has worked in workers’ rights for many years, in labor unions, worker centers, civil rights non-profits and firms. She is currently Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, focusing on workplace justice issues.

08/31/2020

Law Students Against ICE interest form

Hi everyone!

The NLG is organizing a Law Student group against ICE.

Westlaw and LexisNexis are ubiquitous across the legal field as the foremost legal research services. But at law schools across the country, students are drawing attention to these companies’ role in the United States’ violently racist immigration system. Westlaw’s parent company Thomson Reuters, and LexisNexis’s parent company RELX, both have large-scale data contracts with ICE. Thomson Reuters profits from six distinct contracts with ICE for an estimated value of over $54 million. These include its CLEAR platform and its license plate reader database. Meanwhile, in 2013 ICE called the databases it accesses through its LexisNexis contracts “mission critical”. In short, these data contracts are helping ICE target immigrants for arrest, caging, and deportation.

So, Law Students Against ICE was founded in response— we feel that Westlaw and Lexis’s contracts with ICE is a practice we are in a unique position to challenge. Westlaw and Lexis get so many special privileges from law school administrations — from access to student listservs, to space to hold sponsored research training, to free closet space — that they have a lot of exposure on law school campuses. We felt we had a contribution we could make to the larger and immigrant rights movements. NLG student chapters make up the base of the Law Students Against ICE backbone, and NLG student support has been a big part of what has allowed us to expand so rapidly.

If you want to be a part of the national Law Students Against ICE coalition, please join our listserv by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/uWmaw24LRaf5gn3w5

Hello! Please fill out the form below to get involved with and receive emails from the national Law Students Against ICE coalition.

10/16/2019

We will be co-hosting a Legal Observer training. All are welcome and food will be provided. Hope to see folks!

09/16/2019

Maryland's National Lawyer Guild chapter will be meeting tomorrow, Sept 17, at 6 pm in the University of Baltimore Law School room 803

02/16/2018

Public Justice Center

We're All Out for Renters' Rights! The PJC is thrilled to see our allies by our side in Annapolis: Maryland Legal Aid, Maryland Attorney General Consumer Protection Division, Maryland Access to Justice Commission, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, Right to Housing Alliance, Communities United, Bristol House Tenants Association, Jews United for Justice - Baltimore, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Santoni, Vocci & Ortega, LLC, & Maryland Alliance for the Poor (MAP)!

Pictured: PJC and Disability Rights Maryland clients and National Lawyers Guild: University of Baltimore Chapter student volunteer Noah Patton.

02/07/2018

Millennials Are Keeping Unions Alive

There’s at least one thing that millennials aren’t killing: the labor movement.

More young workers are signing union cards which means more workers need quality legal representation. NLG’s Labor and Employment Committee has resources to help labor law practitioners at http://www.nlg-laboremploy-comm.org/

Jobs are precarious, health-care costs are skyrocketing, and wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living—no wonder young people are organizing.

01/02/2018

NewsGuild-CWA

Congrats to the legal workers at Lambda Legal on their successful union drive!

Employees at Lambda Legal voted in favor of forming a union. The vote, 42-8, was held on Dec. 29. Employees are joining The NewsGuild-CWA and will be members of the Washington-Baltimore local. Lambda Legal is the nation’s oldest and largest legal organization that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV.

12/28/2017

National Lawyers Guild

National Lawyers Guild

Evan McLaren, a white supremacist who worked for Richard Spencer “would be unable to adequately represent clients he deems are not ‘white,’ and he would inevitably target or discriminate against opponents or adversaries who do not fit or share his concept of whiteness,” wrote the attorney, who is a member of the progressive National Lawyers Guild.

11/28/2017

Trump Paid Over $1 Million in Labor Settlement, Documents Reveal

20 years ago, former National Lawyers Guild - New York City Chapter (NLG-NYC) President Lewis Steel and his partner Wendy Sloan won a $1m settlement with Donald Trump for his exploitation of Polish construction workers on the Trump Tower site.

Last week, Judge Loretta A. Preska unsealed the terms of the settlement in the interest of the public's constitutional right to know of the President Trump's involvement.

Papers in a lawsuit involving work by illegal immigrants on Trump Tower’s site, sealed since 1998, were unsealed by a judge last week.

11/08/2017

OUTLaw at the University of Baltimore School of Law

We stand with OUTLaw at The University of Baltimore School of Law in condemning ADF in the strongest possible terms and urging Guild members to hold Mr. Mattox accountable for his politics of hate.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

During the past week, OUTLaw’s executive board became aware of an event scheduled to occur on Tuesday, November 14 at 12:00pm at the University of Baltimore School of Law, hosted by the Federalist Society and American Constitution Society. The event will be a discussion of “subjects such as religious freedom, the public interest, and how lawyers can pursue the public interest,” and feature University of Baltimore’s Professor Garrett Epps and Casey Mattox, Senior Counsel and Director for the Center for Academic Freedom at the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is a virulently anti-gay and anti-transgender legal advocacy and training organization which has variously “supported the recriminalization of homos*xuality in the U.S. and criminalization abroad, defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad...linked homos*xuality to pe******ia and claims that a ‘homos*xual agenda’ will destroy Christianity and society.” ADF also works “to develop ‘religious liberty’ legislation and case law that will allow the denial of goods and services to LGBT people on the basis of religion.”

OUTLaw absolutely condemns, in the strongest possible terms, ADF’s work to legally enshrine discrimination against LGBTQ people, as well as Mr. Mattox’s own public statements on “religious liberty.” While OUTLaw as an organization does not oppose this event occurring or Mr. Mattox’s role as a speaker in this event, we do feel that it is our duty to educate the University of Baltimore community on ADF’s abhorrent views and the work that they engage in to protect and strengthen legal and social discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Designated an “Anti-LGBT Hate Group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), ADF’s record of dehumanizing and celebrating discrimination against LGBTQ people is as extensive as it is extreme. While the linked report from the SPLC provides a thorough summary of ADF’s history, some of ADF’S recent public actions and positions are so extreme that they bear repeating here. In 2015, ADF filed an intervention (essentially equivalent to an amicus brief) in support of a French law (and similar laws across Europe) that mandated transgender people undergo permanent sterilization in order to access medical or legal gender transition. Such a requirement, often only achievable through surgery, is not only violently coercive itself, but subjects the already vulnerable transgender community in Europe to greater risk of violence and discrimination by creating an incredibly high barrier to securing identification which matches their gender. In the United States, ADF supported the criminalization of consensual s*x between adults of the same gender as recently as 2003. ADF has also tried to spread their hateful agenda abroad, with Benjamin Bull, the Director of ADF Global, applauding “the Indian Supreme Court’s decision in 2013 that recriminalized homos*xual s*x, making it punishable by up to 10 years in prison.”

While Mr. Mattox's own public statements may not be as hateful as those of the organization he works for, his views on and arguments in support of so-called 'religious freedom' legislation are very troubling, especially in light of "religious freedom" being the topic of the upcoming event. In an April 2, 2015, article in The Federalist (no relationship to the Federalist Society, whose UB chapter is one of the hosts of the event), Mr. Mattox states that arguments against so-called "religious freedom" bills should be completely ignored because the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never "resulted in discrimination against a single gay person," as well as what he claims are hyperbolic responses to bans on "partial birth” abortion. His first point is simply untrue; his second, in addition to being equally as factually dubious as the first, is of questionable relevance to the entirely unrelated issue of "religious liberty" bills allowing for discrimination against LGBTQ people.

Contrary to Mr. Mattox’s claims, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) has resulted in clear harm to LGBTQ individuals. The ACLU, who originally supported the RFRA, withdrew their support in 2015 due to the fact that the RFRA is "often used as a sword to discriminate against women, gay and transgender people and others." Examples of such discrimination abound on the state level; one bill passed this year in Kentucky to supposedly protect "religious freedom" also allows student organizations and clubs at high schools and public universities, funded by taxpayers, to bar LGBTQ students from membership, a clear form of discrimination. It is unclear why Mr. Mattox thinks that what he claims are hyperbolic criticisms of "partial birth” abortion bans provides a reason to ignore all criticism of religious liberty bills, despite the fact that such criticisms largely come from entirely different organizations and individuals on an entirely unrelated issue. With “religious freedom” as the topic of discussion at the upcoming event, members of the University of Baltimore community should be aware of the potential for rhetorical sleight of hand similar to the argument advanced by Mr. Mattox in the linked article from The Federalist.

OUTLaw is not calling for students to disrupt or otherwise attempt to inhibit the event or for the event to be cancelled, but instead for students to be part of the dialog and hold Mr. Mattox accountable. We encourage students who feel comfortable doing so, particularly those who are not members of the LGBTQ community but view themselves as allies, to attend the event, listen attentively, and challenge Mr. Mattox's views at the appropriate time if he advances similar arguments to those of ADF that criminalize, discriminate against, and dehumanize LGBTQ people. Members of OUTLaw and our allies are already planning on attending the event, and we would be appreciate the support of any other students or community members who wish to stand with us .

If you are a University of Baltimore student and are interested in attending with us, please message our page or respond below for further details. Even if you cannot attend, please share this statement widely within your networks, especially within the UB community. Lastly, if you are on the executive board of a University of Baltimore student organization and would like to share our statement, release a similar statement, or otherwise stand with us in this effort, please reach out to us as soon as possible. Together, and alongside the other participants and audience members at this event, we will ensure that this discussion occurs in good-faith and that members of the University of Baltimore community have a clear picture of what Alliance Defending Freedom and Mr. Mattox stand for. We look forward to seeing you there on November 14.

In Love and Pride,
OUTLaw at the University of Baltimore.

P.S: A link to our full statement, with citations, is included in the comment section directly below this post. Pleas share this post widely.

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom

10/06/2017

And we're back with our panel with Matt Zernhelt, Jason Downs, Adam Holofcenter, Reena Shah, and Matt Hill

10/06/2017

We are live streaming Disorientation, happening now in room 202!

10/04/2017

DisOrientation is almost here - join us THIS Friday at UB Law!

09/08/2017

Click here to support Help DACA Recipients in Maryland Fund Renewal Applications!

It costs $495 for DACA recipients to renew their status. We are partnering with the Latin American Law Student Association on a fundraiser to defray the cost.

Please donate and share widely!

On September 5, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, on behalf of the entire Trump administration, announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While the administration will no longer accept new applications, current DACA recipients with work permits that...

09/06/2017

"UB-NLG will not stand idly by as our friends, classmates, and neighbors are targeted for deportation."

Our full statement is attached.

08/29/2017

Is your school talking about structural inequality and public services in Baltimore? It should be.

STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY IN BALTIMORE: UB's Langsdale Library presents a symposium highlighting scholarship by three research fellows about structural inequality in Baltimore. The work was made possible by Langsdale Library's Baltimore Regional Studies Archives and with support from the University of Baltimore Foundation's Fund for Excellence. The Sept. 28 event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by Sept. 12 via the UB calendar at ubalt.edu/calendar.

08/24/2017

The Surge Of Protests Under Trump Has Created A Boom In Legal Notetakers

“A lot of folks told me after, even though there weren’t mass arrests, that seeing the green hats and ... knowing that they had legal support made them braver. That that was holding them up.” 🗒🖊

Since the election, the 80-year-old National Lawyers Guild has seen a surge of volunteers signing up to take notes on police responses to protests.

08/22/2017

Pugh and Baltimore's new civil rights movement

There's a new civil rights movement in Baltimore. Now is not the time to sit at home eating sheet cake.

The newly-erected tent city is the physical manifestation of a larger problem that Ms. Pugh has wrestled with since she took office: what to do with this new, next phase of the civil rights movement?

08/12/2017

‪Solidarity with the NLG legal observers, antifa, and counter-protestors standing up to fascism today in Charlottesville. Be safe.

08/01/2017

University of Baltimore School of Law (Official)

A founding member and former president of our chapter will receive the C.B. King Award from National Lawyers Guild at the convention this weekend. Congrats to the one and only Aneesa Khan!

Aneesa Khan, J.D. ’17, will be honored this week by the National Lawyers Guild as the recipient of the C.B. King Award, which is given annually to just one law student (or recent law graduate) in the nation. Khan notes that the award recognizes the work of UB’s entire National Lawyers Guild student chapter -- “not just me!” A native of Farmingdale, N.Y., Khan helped start the NLG chapter after she served as a legal observer during the Baltimore uprising in 2015.

08/01/2017

BALT Movement Lawyer Training Workshop Application

Apply today for a movement lawyer training workshop with our friends Baltimore Action Legal Team!

The training aims to:

- Explore the history of activism and lawyering in Baltimore; expand the capacity of attorneys in Baltimore willing to support the fight for racial justice and state sponsored violence (physical and economic),
- Increase political education awareness amongst law students, attorneys and legal workers in the Baltimore area (with an emphasis on Black attorneys, law students and legal workers), and
- Develop a network of attorneys, legal workers and law students in the Baltimore area that are committed to applying movement lawyering principles to combat systemic inequality.

Applications are due by August 14.

BALT provides legal support to Baltimore communities as they exercise their civil liberties protesting against injustices rooted in structural racism and economic inequality.

07/18/2017

Come to the Law for the People Convention for the chance to learn from other movement lawyers. Stay for the Noah Patton.

Join Noah Patton, President of the University of Baltimore NLG Chapter and member of the NLG's National Executive Committee, at the 2017 Law for the People Convention! Still time to register at nlg.org/convention!

07/10/2017

Legal Support for Anti-Fascist Action

The NLG will continue to support anti-fascists and anti-racists in the street and in the courts, and will not be swayed by the argument that hateful, dangerous speech should be tolerated at any cost.

Legal professionals concerned about the rising levels of hate and prejudice in the country right now need to vigorously support all organized resistance movements.

To support defendants, click here: http://defendj20resistance.org/support

To help push back against anti-protest laws, click here:
https://www.nlg.org/action-alert-updates-on-anti-protest-legislation/

And, as always, to join NLG and legal observe or offer legal representation to those who need it, click here: https://www.nlg.org/join/

By Traci Yoder, NLG Director of Research and Education Since the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, tense standoffs between groups at different ends of the political spectrum have become in…

06/11/2017

'No Justice, No Pride' Protesters Block Capital Pride Parade Route

protestors in D.C. delivered a powerful message: "War profiteers have no place in our community"

They blocked the route at 15th and P Streets NW. Police formed a barricade around the demonstrators, allowing them to continue the protest while re-routing the official parade down 16th Street.

06/09/2017

Click here to support Justice for Ricky organized by Carlo Tresca

Please, give anything you can. Friend of the Guild and former intern Marquis' step-dad is facing deportation after being detained by ICE during his monthly check-in.

He is a father of three children and five step-children.



"Ricky is the primary caregiver for his youngest six year-old-son and is a main pillar of support for another son who has down syndrome and is a leukemia survivor... The money you donate will help support Ricky and his family as they all struggle with this major transition in their lives. Melissa will need the funds, especially after the loss of income the family receives from Ricky, to support their children. The family will also need funds for legal fees, transportation and childcare." Updates on his case are being posted to Utica IWW page. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

Utica, NY resident Ricky Morgan was detained by ICE on June, 5 during a routine monthly check-in and is in the process of being deported to Jamaica. He currently sits in Albany County Jail and will then be transported to the ICE Detention Center in Batavia until his deportation. Ricky is the fa...

06/01/2017

National Lawyers Guild

Congrats to our fellow guild members in New York City for winning this landmark case!

Here's hoping that police departments everywhere will now hesitate before they use military grade countermeasures against peaceful protesters.

YESSS! In landmark civil rights case, NLG-NYC members successfully challenge NYPD sound cannon use against protesters! “It is vital that the press and public feel safe enough to engage with a moment that could be seen as the disintegration of the democratic process,” said plaintiff Anika Edrei. Plaintiff Shay Horse said: “This is why I do my job, to show what really goes down. To make sure bullies can’t hide behind walls of blue and abuse their power,” said plaintiff Shay Horse.

NYPD used military grade LRAD sound cannons against protesters during December 2014 demonstrations in response to the grand jury's failure to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the killing of Eric Garner.

05/31/2017

Citing 'Fatal Defects' In Government Case, Lawyers Move To Dismiss Charges Against Inauguration Protesters

In their motion, attorneys for the protesters cited that "not a single act of alleged violence or property destruction, and not a single utterance alleged to have 'incited' those acts, is attributed to any moving defendant."

They're facing decades in prison.

05/17/2017

This wasn't just a primary victory. This was a revolution

Congrats to National Lawyers Guild member and civil rights advocate Larry Krasner for DA on winning the Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney!

It was almost unthinkable that a candidate who defended Black Lives Matter and Occupy and promised to end the death penalty and mass incarceration could be elected DA in Philadelphia. What Larry Krasner just accomplished was a revolution.