5D. Legal-Organizing Partnerships: Building Cases and Changing Laws

Lawyers and organizers have different tools to accomplish political change but can be tremendous partners. Given the growing inequality in our country and rising housing costs, lawyer-organizer partnerships will be essential to advance housing justice. Fortunately, tenant organizing is on the rise and many community organizing groups are focusing more effort on housing issues. This workshop will investigate how to best structure relationships between organizers and lawyers and how to navigate the different approaches to social change. The workshop will dive into the challenges of these partnerships and tell the stories of great successes. We will discuss roles, decision-making processes, organizing models and community lawyering.