October 3, 2016

Clinical Conference Explored Ways to Close the Justice Gap

On September 29, Southwestern presented the First Clinical Conference on Closing the Justice Gap for California’s Youth: Diverse Solutions for Diverse Communities. This inaugural clinical conference brought together attorneys, law students, academics and community service providers to discuss issues facing children and youth in the community and strategize innovative ways that lawyers and advocates can help meet their needs.

Michael Newman, the Director of the California Bureau of Children’s Justice, was the keynote speaker.  The Bureau of Children’s Justice is an agency formed by California Attorney General Kamala Harris in early 2015 to protect the rights of children and focus the attention and resources of law enforcement and policymakers on the importance of safeguarding the rights of every child so that they can meet their full potential.  Mr. Newman spoke about issues that are brought to the attention of his agency and offered suggestions for lawyers and advocates to help meet the needs of the children in our community.

“Every child deserves a chance to succeed,” he said. “We want to be smart on crime and focus on prevention and early intervention. To do that, we have to make sure that students are not preyed upon and receive government services. The government has to do a better job of protecting children and their civil rights.”

One of the ways to do this is to make data more accessible. The Bureau is also working to conduct open investigations where there are gaps in oversight in the hope of inspiring systemic changes. Another goal is to improve the lack of awareness, connection, assertiveness and execution with the dependency system.

The event also featured two panels.  Moderated by Judge Mark Borenstein, “Seeking Justice Through the Courts” featured Judge Teresa Sullivan from the Dependency Court, Nickole Miller from Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Ben Conway from Public Counsel.

The second panel, “Pursuit of Justice Through a Different Lens: Policy and Community Responses,” was moderated by Southwestern Professor Beth Caldwell. The panelists included Michelle Carey of the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice; Khushnuma Cooper of Khush Cooper & Associates; and Belia Saavedra, the Director of Restorative Justice Programs at the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CACEJ).

After speaking about the issues their respective agencies deal with, the speakers recommended that students participate in Southwestern’s clinics and take advantage of opportunities to volunteer with public interest organizations and the dependency court.

Maria Guiza Palomares ’09, a staff attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, was honored as Southwestern Law School Legal Clinic’s Alumna of the Year.  She was recognized for her work to ensure that low income housing is preserved through impact litigation, policy advocacy and trainings.

“The experience I had participating in the clinics [at Southwestern] has been invaluable,” Ms. Palomares said. “Professors Julie Waterstone and Laura Cohen are still mentors to me to this day.”