NLG CHICAGO

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We Remember Debra Evenson – Celebrating 80 Years of Law for the People

Debra Evenson leafleting in Daley Plaza for women’s rights

A past president of the Guild, law professor, and one of the nation’s foremost authorities on the legal system and institutions of Cuba, Debra Evenson represented the finest tradition of a People’s lawyer.

Debra was an American legal expert on Cuba, a practicing lawyer, and an educator. She was president of the National Lawyers Guild from 1988 until 1991. During the McCarthy era, Guild membership dwindled to a few hundred. She was part of the generation of young lawyers and law students that revived it in the late 60s and early 70s, combining political passion to combat injustice and exploitation with outstanding legal skills.

Debra also was a founding board member of the Sugar Law Center and remained on the Board until her death. Her work as a board member was instrumental in helping the Sugar Law Center defend the rights of working people in plant closing cases and the Center’s other important work.

She left DePaul University in 1992, and joined the New York City law firm Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman. With the firm, Evenson represented the Cuban government, supporting Cuban sovereignty. She was also licensed to practice law in Cuba, where she worked with high government officials and civilians. From 1996-2001, Evenson was president of the Latin American Institute for Alternative Legal Services (ILSA) headquartered in Bogota, Columbia. During her tenure as president, ILSA organized important conferences related to legal services and human rights in Latin America, Asia and Africa and expanded its collaboration with human rights lawyers in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Debra died in Chicago on August 17, 2011, continuing to teach us through her grace and resilience confronting cancer. She was awarded the Kinoy Award for that year. She will be deeply missed.

With your help, we can build the next generation of people’s lawyers. For our 80th Anniversary, show your support for the Guild by buying a ticket!

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DePaul Hosts “Lawyering Under Trump” Panel

Progressive lawyering under the Trump regime will bring new challenges, and intensification of old ones. The Trump administration has already passed several oppressive policies targeting minority groups – two travel bans targeting Muslims, expansion of ICE enforcement, repeal of Title IX guidance for transgender students, promises to expand private prisons, and more. With these threats looming and becoming reality, the DePaul Journal for Social Justice and the Center for Public Interest Law hosted a panel on Thursday March 30, 2017, that discussed radical lawyers’ responsibilities in safeguarding legal rights, resisting the growing power of an authoritarian regime, and supporting grassroots movements who are protesting and fighting state violence in the streets.

The panelists were:

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DePaul & Loyola Host Korematsu Day Events

In 1942, Fred Korematsu resisted detainment under an executive order that placed Japanese Americans in internment camps through the western and southwestern United States. Two years later, Fred courageously challenged his internment before the United States Supreme Court. Tragically, the Court upheld the internment order. However, almost 40 years later, Fred, his attorneys, and community activists prevailed before the Northern District of California federal court reversed Korematsu’s conviction under the internment order. The court held that the government knew that no military necessity had justified the internment, but lied about this before the Supreme Court. On the day his case was to be decided, Fred stated: “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

The Loyola University Chapter of the NLG hosted a celebration of Korematsu Day and a discussion of how Fred’s legacy informs the current fight on January 30. The film ‘Korematsu and Civil Liberties’ was screened, followed by a panel discussion featuring Fred Tsao from Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Sufyan Sohel from Council on American Islamic Relations-Chicago, Bill Yoshino from Japanese American Citizens League and Andy Kang from Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, moderated by Sameena Mustafa, Managing Director at Bradford Allen

The Loyola event was co-sponsored by the Loyola chapters of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Latino Law Student Association, Black Law Student Association, Immigrant Rights Coalition, Women Law Students, Muslim Law Students Association, Public Interest Law Society, Cultural Impact Initiative, and American Constitution Society.

On Wednesday, February 22, 2017 the DePaul Asian Pacific American Law Students Association hosted a Special Screening “Of Civil Wrongs & Rights,” followed by a Panel Discussion in honor of Fred Korematsu. Panelists discussed the historical background of the Japanese American internment camps and how that experience relates to current civil rights issues faced by the nation today.

The event was hosted by the National Lawyers Guild-Chicago (NLG-Chicago), Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, Japanese American Citizens League, Council on American Islamic Relations-Chicago, Asian American Bar Association of Chicago (AABA), Chinese American Bar Association of Chicago (CABA), Arab American Bar Association of Illinois (AABAR), Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago (FALA). The DePaul Student Org Co-Sponsors were: Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, ILS, MLSA, NLG, SAIL

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DePaul: Stalling Civil Rights: “Bathroom Bills” and Transgender Inclusion

The DePaul Law School chapter of the NLG hosted a lunchtime panel on November 14, 2016 about the recent “bathroom bills”. In the past year, a wave of states have followed North Carolina in proposing or passing legislation that restricts transgender people’s access to public bathrooms, spurring a national debate about privacy, gender norms, and trans inclusion. Transgender activists have been fighting back against these “bathroom bills” as an issue of fundamental dignity, safety, and Constitutional rights. Join us for a lunchtime conversation about the legal landscape surrounding bathrooms both locally and nationally, and action steps for making bathrooms more inclusive.

The panelists were: Crispin Torres (Community Educator, Lambda Legal), Tanvi Sheth, (Staff Attorney and Board Member, Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois), and Katy Weseman (Director, Center for Identity and Inclusion, DePaul University).

The event was supported by: DePaul University College of Law NLG, CPIL, OUTlaws, PILA.

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Highlights from DisOrientation 2016

Dis-Orientation is an annual city-wide retreat for law students hosted by the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago. This year, Dis-Orientation was hosted by the Northwestern Law School NLG Chapter. The speakers included NLG Chicago activist and law professor Bernardine Dohrn, Juan F Perea of Loyola Law, Destiny Peery of Northwestern Law, and community organizer & recent law grad Quinn Kareem Rallins.

Prof Juan Perea introduced “the Epistemology of Ignorance” to a group of mostly 1st year law studentsat Dis-orientation, teaching them all the ways the constitution is pro-slavery. You can read Prof Perea’s law review article about the pro-slavery constitution here.

 

Bernardine Dohrn spoke about how lawyers & law students can support current social movements. Quinn Kareem Rallins discussed the question of whether change comes from the law or organizing people. He shared the story of using legal services at Boston Legal Aid to support organizing by Project No One Leaves in their fight against foreclosures.

Prof. Destiny Peery reminded us of the dangers of implicit bias in both teaching and the practice of law. The most important step in combating implicit bias is acknowledging it exists. You can take a test and explore your own biases here.

Finally, there was a panel of current law students shares their strategies for surviving & thriving in law school.

For more resources check out the Guerrilla Guides to Law Teaching.

 

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NLG Chicago Dis-Orientation 2016 Sept 17

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(Dis)Orientation Chicago 2016

Saturday, September 17 Lunch Served @ 12 PM, Event starts @ 1PM Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
375 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

RSVP HERE

(Dis)Orientation is an event for students to discuss surviving law school with our values and commitment to social justice intact. Come meet NLG law students, legal workers, and attorneys, while attending panels and trainings on how to become a people’s lawyer.

The NLG is dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system. We seek to unite lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective force in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.

Our aim is to bring together all those who recognize the importance of safeguarding and extending the rights of workers, women, farmers, people with disabilities and people of color, upon whom the welfare of the entire nation depends; who seek actively to eliminate racism; who work to maintain and protect our civil rights and liberties in the face of persistent attacks upon them; and who look upon the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than for their repression.

Free food will be provided, with a happy hour to follow!

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Contact

637 S. Dearborn St., 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60605

(773) 492-1405
chicago[@]nlg.org