2008 ANNUAL REPORT - National Lawyers Guild

Student Work
Law students are one of the most active
elements of the National Lawyers
Guild today, as well as being—quite
literally—the future of the organization.
They bring new ideas and energy to our
collective work, informed by their experiences
from other contemporary movements. Over the
past several years, the number of NLG student
chapters has grown from 70 to over 100.
Disorientation
Law school can be a challenging time for
progressive students, so from the time they step
on campus, incoming students are welcomed
by their student chapter. Each year we organize
“NLG Disorientation Week” at law schools
to coincide with the school’s official orientation
period. We distribute the Disorientation
Handbook, a guide to crafting an individualized,
enriching law school experience that applauds
incoming students’ decision to use their law
school education and career for social change.
“Knowing that other students have been there
before helps progressive students navigate the
difficult experience of being a 1L,” said one
Guild student member. “The Handbook was a
huge motivating factor in my making it through
the first year.”
In addition to maintaining a much needed
progressive voice at law schools, Guild students
play a vital role in all aspects of the NLG’s
work, often being some of the most active
members in national committees and local organizing.
In the process, students are exposed to
thousands of experienced lawyers using the law
for social change.
“I view the Guild as a way to get students
In New York City, Cardozo
law students worked on
prison issues with the “Drop
the Rock” coalition during
2008.
Pictured: Cardozo NLG members
Jason Greenberg, Jaya Vasandani
and Joshua Moscowitz with Robert
Gangi (second from right), director
of the Correctional Association.