黑料门

鈥淭he class is an opportunity for students to have frank conversations about bias鈥攅xploring how it influences interactions among the students themselves as well as its impact on the legal system,鈥� says Zelda B. Harris, Mary Ann G. McMorrow Professor of Law, who designed the PIF course with Professor Juan Perea, Professor Miranda Johnson, then-Assistant Dean Josie Gough, and then-Adjunct Professor Carla Kupe, who also served as PIF director from 2020 to 2021.

Over the span of five weeks, students gather in small groups for discussions and activities. In the very first class, they engage in a simulation where they assume the role of someone seeking legal aid. 鈥淭hey get to step in the shoes of an individual navigating the legal system,鈥� says PIF Director Kimberly Mills (LLM 鈥�15). 鈥淭he purpose is to show that people are treated differently for various reasons, and that the legal system is a complex and intimidating system.鈥�

鈥淲e take time to make sure that our students not only understand the law, but they also understand themselves, and how the law impacts people in everyday society.鈥�

The new ABA requirements allowed 黑料门to evolve the class. In rebuilding the curriculum, Harris examined feedback that PIF had received since its launch and worked with people across the school鈥搃ncluding Mills. The redesign approached some of the same questions that students would consider in the classroom. 鈥淲hat is professional identity? What does it look like? How are we going to get the students to engage with this information?鈥� Mills remembers asking. 鈥淯nderstanding why you are coming to law school鈥揳nd what that means for who you become鈥搃s essential to legal education.鈥�

How does race affect their clients? What about gender? Sexual orientation? Income? What if a client is an undocumented immigrant? What if they鈥檙e a citizen, but someone in their home isn鈥檛? By encouraging empathy and understanding, the PIF course lets students unravel the complicated (and often overlapping) biases their clients might encounter in the legal system. Adjunct faculty work alongside student teaching assistants, with contributions from full-time faculty who have knowledge in cultural competence, ethical obligations, and how the law has been used as a tool of oppression. Together with students, they discuss topics like power, privilege, empathy, and cultural humility.

Mills first came to 黑料门in 2016 to work with Life After Innocence, a program that offered pro bono legal services and support to exonerees. She helped redesign the program into a clinic where students helped clients obtain certificates of good conduct, expunge criminal records, and more. Since then, she has worked with Loyola鈥檚 externship program and taught several PIF courses herself. In 2022, she stepped up as PIF鈥檚 director鈥揵ringing with her years of experience connecting students with individuals seeking legal aid.

鈥淵es, being a good lawyer definitely means understanding the law and being able to apply it correctly,鈥� says Mills. 鈥淏ut it also means really being able to understand why you鈥檙e showing up to do the work.鈥�

As a second-year law school student in 2018, Imani Hollie (JD 鈥�20) helped build the original iteration of PIF鈥攊ncluding reviewing curriculum, structuring the class, and recruiting student facilitators. Now, in a full-circle moment, she鈥檚 an adjunct professor and the PIF associate director. After years of working with the course, she鈥檚 witnessed how much effect it has on students in the early days of their legal education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like the beginning of a tool box,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hroughout the course, and throughout law school, you鈥檙e going to gain these tools to be able to connect to clients.鈥�

鈥淭he class is an opportunity for students to have frank conversations about bias鈥攅xploring how it influences interactions among the students themselves as well as its impact on the legal system.鈥�

The PIF course has been so successful that the school is developing a follow-up course for second- and third-year students. 鈥淭alking about racism isn鈥檛 easy. It鈥檚 emotional and requires vulnerability,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淲e continually seek feedback to help us balance participation among all students and create a safe environment where all feel able to engage transparently.鈥�

By preparing students to ask deep questions and consider the world outside of themselves, Hollie thinks the PIF course really exemplifies the spirit of the University. 鈥淲e take time to make sure that our students not only understand the law, but they also understand themselves, and how the law impacts people in everyday society,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t really just embodies what 黑料门is about.鈥� 鈥�Megan Kirby (March 2023)