This spring, the impact of George Washington University Law School’s Clinical Programs was felt locally, nationally, and worldwide. Our students, stepping into the roles of lawyers under the supervision of their expert faculty, performed transactional, trial and appellate advocacy, and policy work on behalf of clients and organizations who would not otherwise have dedicated representation and support. And along the way, our student-attorneys acquired and flexed skills that will distinguish them in the job market and in practice. We are thrilled to share just a few of their victories.

Pictured above from left to right:  Abigail Thomas, Samuel Girioni, Henry Stewart-Wood, Ori Fedida, Professor Stephen Saltzburg, Professor Jonathan Gitlen, Nina Bundy, Deborah Jaffe, and Navreet Kaur.

Student-attorneys in the Access to Justice Clinic's Prisoner Civil Rights Division, directed by Professor Stephen Saltzburg with the support of Professor Jonathan Gitlen, litigated a multi-day jury trial on behalf of their client in federal court. Their dedicated representation at each stage of the trial drew praise from presiding Senior Federal District Judge Michael F. Urbanski.

The Administrative Law Issues & Appeals Clinic, directed by Dean Aram Gavoor, filed amicus briefs this academic year before the Supreme Court of the United States and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First and Seventh Circuits. In its Supreme Court dockets, the ALIA Clinic filed a brief in Donte Parrish v. United States of America, representing the MacArthur Justice Center and other groups to support a pro se prisoner whose federal court appeal rights from an adverse district court judgment had been allegedly violated on account of a late filing that was not his fault. In the Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Luke Davis et al. brief, the ALIA Clinic represented the National Federation for Independent Business to advance small business equities in defending class actions. In each matter, the Clinic meticulously designed its briefs to advance the respective interests of petitioners and likewise aid the Supreme Court.

The Clinic’s Labcorp v. Davis brief was cited in Law360: “Once again, the volume of activity correlates with the volume of citations in Labcorp v. Davis, where numerous briefs dissected the Eleventh Circuit’s stance on standing [in class action suits]. Many of those briefs have voiced frustration; as one example, the National Federation of Independent Business said the appeals court has ‘failed to enforce Article III’s standing requirement at the class certification stage.’” The brief has earned multiple additional news media references as well. 

In April 2025, student-attorneys in the Civil and Human Rights Law Clinic, directed by Professor Arturo Carrillo, filed a joint report with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as part of its Universal Periodic Review of the United States. The submission is titled The United States’ Deficient Regulation of Firearms Enables Gun Violence, Fuels Transnational Gun Trafficking, and Disproportionately Impacts Children, Adolescents, and Racial Minorities, and was presented jointly with the Clinic client and partner, Global Action on Gun Violence.

The same month, the Clinic co-sponsored and helped organize a webinar entitled “Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Second Amendment Jurisprudence and its International and Public Health Impacts.” This event was part of the GW University Seminar series on Global Gun Violence and Public Health.

Student-attorneys pictured above from left to right:  Kenneth Forward II, Harsha Motamarry, Marie Taylor, Samantha Traina, and Catherine Smith.

Following a visit to Capitol Hill in which students presented their research findings on the U.S. housing and eviction crises, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus invited the Health Justice Policy & Advocacy Clinic, directed by Professor Emily Benfer, to participate in a virtual briefing for its members on the federal 30-day eviction notice requirement and other related housing matters. Led by student-attorneys, the session emphasized how the notice protects tenants in federally-supported housing from sudden eviction, allowing time for recovery and rental assistance.

The briefing also addressed the proposed Respect State Housing Laws Act, which would remove this protection. The Clinic’s student-attorneys organized the event, shared their own remarks, and invited other key speakers, including housing law experts and a current Housing Choice Voucher tenant. The Clinic’s input was appreciated and prompted follow-up from congressional staffers interested in housing stability policy.

Pictured above, left to right: Taylor Moorer, Will Shorter, Marie Taylor, and Alexander Dorsey-Tarpley, members of the Clinic Student Advisory Council.

Each year, GW Law’s Clinical Program appoints a third-year student as its Student Director through the Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation Fellowship. For 2024–2025, Taylor Moorer (Class of ’25) has held the role, mentoring peers and collaborating with Clinic leaders to help manage and strengthen the Clinics. The Student Director also works with the Student Advisory Council (SAC), which is an opportunity for current Clinic student-attorneys collaborate, promote programming ideas, and execute public service projects with the Clinic client community in mind. SAC members work together with the administration and alums to make a meaningful difference in the Clinical Program. In meetings, SAC members reflect on the importance of teamwork, legal advocacy, and serving communities that have limited access to justice. The service of Ms. Moorer and the SAC members, pictured above, highlights ways that the Clinical Program – even outside of the clinical curriculum – builds leadership, deepens legal skills, and reaffirms commitments to justice. Marie Taylor (Class of '26) will serve as the 2025–2026 Student Director.

Professor Cori Alonso-Yoder
Associate Professor of Fundamentals of Lawyering; Co-Director, Access to Justice Clinic – Citizenship & Naturalization Division 

In April 2025, Professor Cori Alonso-Yoder led a session titled “Client-Centered Lawyering in the Age of Generative AI” at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. During the conference, she also presented a poster, “Mandated Reporting & the Legal Educator's Duty.” In March 2025, Professor Alonso-Yoder spoke about the developments in immigration law and policy at the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program. At the January AALS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Professor Alonso-Yoder presented her article regarding the federalism implications of American Samoa’s unique form of immigration law and regulation. Also in January 2025, she appeared on the Beerocracy! podcast to discuss the new executive orders on immigration. 

Professor Emily Benfer
Associate Professor of Law; Director, Health Justice Policy & Advocacy Clinic

In April 2025, Professor Emily Benfer led a session titled “Teaching for Social Change: An Inquiry Through the Lens of Housing” at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Additionally, she co-authored an article, “A Descriptive Analysis of Tenant Right to Counsel Law and Praxis 2017-2024,” which was published in Housing Policy Debate and includes initial legal mapping and qualitative research findings on state and local tenant right to counsel laws. The article was spotlighted in the Eviction Lab at Princeton University's blog post. Law360 also spotlighted the study in an article.

Professor Alberto M. Benítez
Professor of Law; Director, Immigration Clinic

In March 2025, Professor Alberto Benitez was quoted in an article, "She did chores for a host family—then ended up in US immigration detention," in Yahoo News.  

 

 

Professor Arturo Carrillo
Professor of Law; Director, Civil & Human Rights Law Clinic

In March 2025, Professor Arturo Carrillo’s article, “Two Heads Are Better Than One: Integrating International Law and Global Public Health Approaches to Firearm Violence to Promote Public Safety and Human Rights,” on international law, firearm violence, and global public health (co-authored with Jon Lowy of Global Action on Gun Violence) was accepted for publication by the Emory International Law Review. The same month, Professor Carrillo spoke on a panel at Georgetown Law School, titled “Policy and Legal Solutions to the Threat of Gun Violence to National Security.” The event was part of the symposium, “The National Security Threats of Gun Violence,” organized by Georgetown Journal of National Security Law and Policy. In January 2025, Professor Carrillo was appointed to the Lancet Commission on Gun Violence and Global Public Health. The Commission is composed of experts from a range of academic disciplines and is charged with preparing an interdisciplinary research study on gun violence and public health.

Dean Aram Gavoor
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Director, Administrative Issues and Appeals Law Clinic; Professor (by courtesy), Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration

In August 2024, Dean Aram Gavoor was elected to serve a three-year term on the Governing Council of the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice.

Professor Jeffrey Gutman
Professor of Law; Director, Public Justice Advocacy Clinic

In March 2025, Professor Jeffrey Gutman published an article titled “An Empirical Assessment of New Jersey’s Mistaken Imprisonment Act” in the Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy. Also in March, Professor Gutman’s data on compensation for wrongful conviction was cited by the Associated Press and The Black Information Network. In February 2025, Professor Gutman was quoted in an article by the Chicago Sun-Times discussing the $82 million set aside in 2025 for the Chicago Police Department to cover misconduct settlements in judgments. In February 2025, Professor Gutman was quoted by the Civil Beat in an article discussing the stringent criteria of Hawaii’s new law providing compensation for the wrongfully convicted.

Professor Lula Hagos
Associate Professor of Clinical Law; Director, Criminal Defense and Justice Clinic

In April 2025, Professor Lula Hagos led a session titled “Teaching Resilience and Self-Care While Doing the Hard Work” at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. In February 2025, Professor Hagos’ latest article, “Debunking Criminal Restitution” appeared in Michigan Law Review. The article critiques the imposition of criminal restitution and considers its impact, especially on indigent criminal defendants.

Professor Renee Hatcher
Visiting Associate Professor of Clinical Law; Director, Small Business & Community Economic Development Clinic

In April 2025, Professor Renee Hatcher led a session titled “Decolonizing the Clinical Seminar” at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. In March 2025, Professor Hatcher facilitated a Town Hall and Call-to-Action with the organization, Law for Black Lives, to reflect on and address current access to justice issues.

Andrea R. Johnson
Managing Attorney & Associate Program Director; Professorial Lecturer in Law

In April 2025, Andrea Johnson was appointed to serve on the LexisNexis Advisory Board, where she works with the company to help shape the future of legal technology alongside faculty and administrators from peer institutions across the nation. The same month, she co-led three Clinic Manager Working Group Sessions titled “New Opportunities in an Evolving Landscape: Improving Commutations, Administrative Processes, and Student Engagement,” at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Additionally, during the Conference, she presented on a panel entitled “Bridging the Gap: Faculty and Clinic Manager Collaboration for Successful Student and Social Impact.” The interactive panel focused on the role of clinic managers , creating regional clinic support networks between schools, and strategies for integrating law firm practice management into clinical pedagogy.

Dean Laurie Kohn
Senior Associate Dean, Academic Development, Graduate Programs & Online Learning; Jacob Burns Foundation Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs; Associate Professor of Law; Director, Family Justice Litigation Clinic; Director, Access to Justice Clinic

In May 2025, Dean Laurie Kohn was awarded GW Law's Distinguished Associate Dean Award. In April 2025, Dean Kohn led a session titled "Falling with Style - Oops I Did It Again: The Art of the Stumble: Transforming Mistakes Into Learning" at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The same month, she published an article called “Justice Delayed by Design: The Harms of Our Protracted Divorce System” in the Villanova Law Review. In March 2025, Dean Kohn organized and led a workshop at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Clinical Conference 2025 called “The First Class: What’s Love Got to Do With It? Finding Inspiration Among the Logistics.” In January 2025, Dean Kohn also spoke at the AALS 2025 Annual Meeting for a discussion titled, “Oops, Did it Again: Embracing Risk-Taking and Mistake-Making.”

Professor Joan Meier
National Family Violence Law Center Professor of Law; Director, National Family Violence Law Center at the George Washington University Law School

In March 2025, the National Family Violence Law Center launched the first installment of its professional curriculum for all family court professionals. The first three-hour online course is available on-demand and focuses on coercive control. In February 2025, Professor Meier was quoted in the Colorado Springs Gazette about the Colorado Court of Appeals’ interpretation of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding stalking and freedom of speech. In December 2024, Professor Meier presented her research on custody outcomes in cases involving abuse and alienation claims to the Santa Clara Child Abuse Prevention Council. 

Professor Tania Valdez
Associate Professor of Law; Co-Director, Access to Justice Clinic – Citizenship & Naturalization Division 

In March 2025, Professor Tania Valdez gave a talk titled “Immigration Law and the New Presidential Administration” for the University of Connecticut School of Business’ Equity Now Speaker Series. She also wrote and presented on the eugenic roots of immigration law for the Boston University Law Review Symposium. In December 2024, Professor Valdez presented at the National Immigrant Inclusion Conference in Houston, Texas on a panel titled “Navigating Barriers: The Journey of Displaced Individuals with Disabilities in the U.S. Immigration System.” 

Professor Paulina Vera
Professorial Lecturer in Law; Immigration Clinic

In May 2025, Professor Paulina Vera was interviewed by Ms. J.D. for a blog post titled “You Belong Here: Paulina Vera’s Journey to Becoming—and Making Space for Others in Law.” In April 2025, Professor Vera led a session titled “Showing Up as Our Authentic Selves” at the 2025 AALS Clinical Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The same month, she participated in the 2025 Hispanic Bar Association Advocacy Days fireside chat to discuss the future of legal education and strategies for improving law school retention rates.