Fordham Law joined approximately 100 law schools across the United States and Puerto Rico to answer U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s recent call to action for stronger access to justice and court reform on eviction protection. In turn, the Law School participated in a Jan. 28 webinar led by Garland, U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and other top Administration officials.
“It was great to hear top officials talking about this issue and center it around us, the students,” said Sophia Singh ’24, board member of the Housing Advocacy Project (HAP) at Fordham Law, who attended the event. HAP, which brings together students concerned with housing instability and homelessness in New York City and nationwide, works with various community organizations to provide volunteer and research opportunities for students to gain experience and learn about topics like the civil right to counsel initiative, individual and group legal representation in housing court, and tenant organizing.
“Even though I just started at Fordham Law, this opportunity made me feel like I was a part of something bigger, and reaffirmed that I want to stay engaged with this work,” Singh said.
“The eviction crisis in New York City and nationwide requires that we collaborate to provide immediate assistance and long-term solutions,” said Leah Horowitz ’06, assistant dean for public interest and social justice initiatives. “As always, our students are actively engaged, committed and eager to use their access as law students to fight for directly impacted families and communities. We are grateful for their enthusiastic involvement and continued leadership.”
HAP Helps Families During the Fall
The call to action, issued on Aug. 30 to the entire legal community, asked lawyers and law students to rise to the occasion and help tenants in their communities keep up on rent and remain in their homes following the expiration of federal and local eviction moratoriums—whether through Emergency Rental Assistance application support, volunteering with legal aid providers, or helping courts implement eviction diversion programs, among other initiatives. On the same day the attorney general issued the call, law school deans, including Dean Matthew Diller, issued a statement of support and committed to take swift and meaningful action to combat the eviction and housing crises.
In response to the attorney general’s memo, Fordham Law and HAP (through the Public Interest Resource Center) collaborated with New York University School of Law and the Legal Aid Society to hold a training session for students interested in partnering with tenants at risk of eviction to apply for New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Over 80 law students were trained in September to assist tenants at risk of eviction in applying for emergency rental assistance. Eleven Fordham Law students helped 11 families with rent assistance applications during the fall 2021 semester and are continuing those efforts this spring.
Between September 2021 and January 2022, over 2,100 law students dedicated over 81,000 hours to serve over 10,000 households, based on a survey facilitated by New York University School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison and Georgetown University Law Center Dean William Treanor (who served as dean at Fordham Law from 2002 to 2010).
Spring Semester Plans
Through Fordham Law’s semester-long Access to Justice Initiative Project, HAP members will continue to sort through and document housing court opinions. For Singh, the experience has been invaluable in exposing her to more housing law outside of the classroom.
“The most exciting part of being part of HAP—or any student group—is when our work extends beyond the group of people who have signed up to be a part of it,” Singh said. “That’s when we can make the biggest impact.”
HAP is also working in partnership with PA’LANTE (People Against Landlord Abuse & Tenant Exploitation) to help low-income Housing Development Fund Corp. shareholders apply for the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund. The federally-funded program is dedicated to assisting homeowners who are at risk of default, foreclosure, or displacement as a result of a financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Feb. 25 and March 2, HAP members will volunteer in schools or community centers located in Harlem, Hamilton Heights, and Washington Heights through the PA’LANTE partnership. Fordham Law students who are interested in participating in the events can earn pro bono service hours.
“After listening to other law students talk about their initiatives and goals [during the Jan. 28 webinar], I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting about how we can’t make effective policy until you’ve worked directly with the people that the policy is going to impact,” said Singh. “I believe that direct action-oriented housing work has always been necessary, and now more than ever, during an ongoing pandemic. Law students who are passionate about this work need to commit to it and push to have it translated into the broader policy field.”
