Street Law, Inc. | Current Programs

Law School Programs

Overview

Law school-based practical legal education programs—commonly referred to as “Street Law” programs—are innovative programs in which law students teach non lawyers about law, the legal system, and the fundamental principles of democracy. Law students trained in interactive teaching pedagogy teach high school students, disadvantaged populations, and others the basic information, skills, and attitudes they need to thrive as active members of their society.

For example, in a Street Law class focused on contract law, the law student instructors explain in plain language the basics of a contract—what it is, what it is used for, and who enforces it—to build practical knowledge of the topic. Then, the participants engage in a simulated contract negotiation to put that knowledge into practice, develop their communication and advocacy skills, and foster an appreciation for cooperation and finding common ground.

Through this blending of legal content and interactive teaching strategies, program participants build their understanding of practical legal matters and develop the skills and attitudes they need to effectively engage in the democratic processes of their communities. The programs also offer positive outlets for young people to serve their communities and learn to manage conflict in socially acceptable ways, as well as a foundation for strong partnerships with other community and school-based citizenship programs. The programs benefit law students as well. Through preparing lessons and teaching, law students not only thoroughly learn the legal content but also develop and practice the fundamental lawyering skill of explaining complex legal concepts in language understandable to lay audiences.

Background

Street Law, Inc. (the organization) grew out of the original Street Law program at Georgetown University law school. For more than five decades, we have helped law schools across the U.S. and around the world establish and sustainably implement their own Street Law programs.

The short video below provides an overview of law school-based Street Law programs, and how and why to start one at your law school.

Resources

The primary resource that we provide is training for program directors. Through workshops, one-on-one coaching, and online collaboration, our expert staff of trainers assists programs of every size and in every context. We walk program directors through each step of the process—from training law students in the interactive teaching methodologies that are the backbone of every successful Street Law program to establishing partnerships with schools and community organizations to monitoring, evaluating, and improving the program.

As part of the training process, we can provide program directors with a number of program planning, implementation, and evaluation resources to help them effectively manage their programs. These include:

Lesson plans
Sample course syllabi
Connections to local schools and tips for working with teaching sites
Planning resources such as law student orientation and program evaluation tools

Are you interested in starting a Street Law Program at your law school?

We can help. To connect with us, please complete this brief form:

Get Assistance from Street Law

After hearing from you, we will follow up to schedule a start-up call with Street Law Consultant Amy Wallace. These 30-60 minute calls give us an opportunity to learn more about your aspiring program and how Street Law, Inc. can best support you in its development. Following the call, program leaders will gain access to a variety of helpful program resources.

Already have an established Street Law program at your law school?

Register Your Program

Partners

Street Law has worked with scores of law schools around the world to establish and improve their practical legal education programs. A few recent examples include:

Touro College School of Law (Long Island, NY, USA) offered Street Law as a credit-bearing course for the first time in spring 2019. Professor Jorge Roig worked with a Street Law mentor in the fall to develop his course, and his first group of law students just started teaching civil law at Brentwood High School on Long Island.
Jewel Haji, a 3L at the Mercy School of Law at the University of Detroit (Detroit, MI, USA), started a volunteer-based Street Law program during the 2018-19 academic year. She is leading a dedicated group of law students who are teaching ninth and 12th grade students at Renaissance High School in Detroit.
At Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law (Knoxville, TN, USA), Timothy Chambers recently started a law-student run Street Law program. They are developing a program with Project Grad at Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Street Law worked with Kiev National Economic University (Kiev, Ukraine) to establish their Street Law program. In addition to training the clinic director, Street Law organized an innovative partnership between KNEU and Loyola University Chicago School of Law in which Street Law students from both schools could collaborate and share experiences.

View our program map for a list of known Street Law program locations in the U.S.:

Program Map

Recent articles featuring law school-based Street Law programs:

We’d love to feature your program’s accomplishments on our website and social media channels. Please reach out to us at learnmore@streetlaw.org if you have a story to share.