School Notes: Yale Law School
May/June 2012

Colloquium examines access to justice

The 15th annual Arthur Liman Public Interest Law Colloquium, “Accessing Justice, Rationing Law,” was held at Yale Law School March 1–2. Current and former chief justices from several states as well as scholars, students, practitioners, and many past and present Liman Fellows joined in a conversation on the question: how can courts respond to the demand for their services? The issues included providing adequate representation to criminal defendants, the right to “civil Gideon” for people unable to afford lawyers, and what role, if any, alternative processes and new kinds of courts may play in addressing these challenges.

Five awarded Gruber fellowships

Two Yale Law School students, a recent YLS graduate, and two School of Nursing students were named recipients of Gruber Global Justice and Women’s Rights Fellowships for 2012–2013. Amanda Gutierrez and Stephanie Keene (both ’12JD) and Becca Heller ’10JD, along with Nichole Trumper and Erin George (both ’12MSN), will each spend a year working on projects that help to promote global justice or women’s rights. The fellowships were introduced as part of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights at Yale Law School. They are open to all Yale graduate and professional school students in their final year as well as those who have graduated within the past three years.

Worker-rights clinic gets victory

Eleven New Haven residents who claim immigration agents illegally raided their homes in 2007 achieved a landmark settlement recently in their civil rights lawsuit against the government. The 11 were represented by students from the Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) and pro bono counsel from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton of New York, led by Jorge Tenreiro ’03, ’06JD. They will receive $350,000, and any of them with deportation proceedings ongoing at the time of the settlement will have those proceedings dismissed. In addition to the students actively involved in the case this year, a long list of others from Yale Law School have contributed over the past five years, working on the civil rights action, removal defense cases, FOIA suits, and policy campaigns arising from the raids.