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The Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic is a 10 credit, one semester clinic designed to teach students how to become effective legislative lawyers. A legislative lawyer is a person who is trained to:
- recognize policy and legal issues in proposed legislation, regulation, or policy ideas;
- perform legal research necessary to support or oppose legislation, regulation, or policy ideas;
- develop creative solutions to legal and political problems;
- present solutions in clear and persuasive oral and written forms; and
- work with coalitions and Congressional and Administrative staff to advance particular policy solutions.
A primary focus of the Federal Legislation & Administrative Clinic is to sharpen a student’s skills in reading statutory and regulatory text and to enhance a student’s understanding of how such text has been developed within the political process. Thus, the skills taught in the Clinic are designed to be transferable to any legal job that involves understanding and applying statutory and regulatory text.
The Clinic represents two organizational clients: Epilepsy Foundation, a national organization dedicated to the welfare of people with epilepsy, and Workplace Flexibility 2010, an enterprise funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop consensus-based policy ideas to advance workplace flexibility. See www.efa.org and www.workplaceflexibility2010.org for general information about these organizational clients.
Epilepsy Foundation
The Clinic’s pro-bono retainer with Epilepsy Foundation is limited to legislative lawyering related to the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, a bill to restore a broad definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Epilepsy Foundation chairs the ADA Restoration Act Working Group and is a leader on the legislative efforts to support passage of the bill.
Below is a sampling of Clinic students’ experiences working with Epilepsy Foundation over the past year and a half.
- Drafting Advocacy and Analysis Documents – Researching and drafting various analysis, research and advocacy documents for White House officials, Congressional staff, and national grassroots organizations, including: one-page talking points on the ADA Restoration Act; case stories demonstrating the real-life negative impact of Supreme Court decisions on people with disabilities; and section-by-section summaries of how the ADA Restoration Act would impact current law. (See “Talking Points on ADA Restoration”; “Real Case Stories”; and “Section-by-Section Summaries,” available at http://www.c-c-d.org/task_forces/rights/tf-rights-ada.htm for these documents).
- Responding to Opponents – Researching and drafting memoranda in response to opponents’ criticisms of the ADA Restoration Act. (See “Analysis of Cases Offered by Larry Lorber on Behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” available at http://www.c-c-d.org/task_forces/rights/tf-rights-ada.htm).
- Contributing to Congressional and State Legislative Hearings –
Assisting Prof. Chai Feldblum in drafting expert testimony for hearings before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in October 2007, and before the Senate HELP Committee in November 2007. (See Testimonies, available at http://www.c-c-d.org/task_forces/rights/tf-rights-ada.htm).
Interviewing lay witnesses for Congressional hearings before House Judiciary and Education and Labor Subcommittees and the Senate HELP Committee; assisting lay witnesses in drafting hearing testimony; and “mooting” lay witnesses in preparation for the hearings.
Drafting various documents for Congressional hearings at the request of House Judiciary and Education and Labor Subcommittees and Senate HELP committee staff, including a chart depicting the problems with the ADA; an analysis of cases demonstrating the impact of Supreme Court decisions on veterans; issues for members of Congress to question hearing witnesses about; and materials for members of Congress to include in their statements and record submissions at hearings.
Submitting testimony to the Maine Legislature on behalf of Epilepsy Foundation for use at a hearing regarding proposed changes to Maine’s state disability anti-discrimination law.
- Legislative Drafting – Analyzing language in the ADA Restoration Act; researching, drafting, and defending alternatives to the bill’s language in the light of court decisions on existing language.
- Observing Lobbying in Action – Attending meetings on the Hill with members of Congress and key congressional staff members.
- Observing Coalition Politics in Action – Participating in meetings and strategy sessions with coalition partners, including various disability organizations and other civil rights groups.
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Workplace Flexibility 2010
Workplace Flexibility 2010 is a public policy initiative housed within Georgetown University Law Center. It has two Co-Directors (Professor Chai Feldblum and Katie Corrigan), three legislative lawyers, and a communications and outreach specialist. It also has contracts with policy researchers and community development specialists.
The mission of Workplace Flexibility 2010 is to develop a set of consensus-based policy ideas to advance workplace flexibility in a manner that works well for both employees and employers. Workplace Flexibility 2010 defines workplace flexibility as: Flexible Work Arrangements; Time Off (Short-Term Time Off, Episodic Time Off and Extended Time Off); and Career Maintenance and Reentry. Visit the website at www.workplaceflexibility2010.org for further description of these components.
Because Workplace Flexibility 2010 is fully funded by a private foundation, it does no lobbying. In other words, it does not support or oppose any particular piece of legislation in Congress.
Instead, Workplace Flexibility 2010 is engaged in broad-based policy development. This requires thoughtful and creative legislative lawyering (which the Clinic students participate in), as well as strategic thinking, constituency development, and media relations—all of which are done by Workplace Flexibility 2010 staff (which the Clinic students get to observe). The consensus-based policy development currently being led by Workplace Flexibility 2010 is unique in the labor and employment political field today.
Below is a sampling of Clinic students’ experiences working with Workplace Flexibility 2010 over the past year and a half.
- Analyzing International, Federal, State, and Local Legislative Proposals or Laws–
Analyzing existing models of workplace flexibility on the international, federal, state and local levels. Includes close reading of statutory text, legislative history, regulations, executive orders, advocacy documents, interpretive guidance, and media reports. (See Memorandum on The United Kingdom Flexible Working Act, Memorandum on The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act, Chart on Title VII and Flexible Work Arrangements to Accommodate Religious Practice and Belief, available at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/workplaceflexibility2010/law/index.cfm).
- Analyzing Agency Regulations and Comments on Regulations – Analyzing agency rulemaking and comments submitted in response to proposed regulations and requests for information from the Department of Labor or other agencies. (See FMLA Comment Review Memoranda, available at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/workplaceflexibility2010/law/fmla.cfm).
- Drafting Background Legal Documents – Preparing background legal memoranda, charts, and talking points to further the client’s understanding of important issues related to workplace flexibility. (See http://www.law.georgetown.edu/workplaceflexibility2010/law/index.cfm).
- Contributing to Bi-Partisan Congressional Briefings – Drafting materials for distribution to Senate staff at a bi-partisan briefing on the Family and Medical Leave Act. (See FMLA Comment Review Memoranda, available at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/workplaceflexibility2010/law/fmla.cfm).
- Preparing Materials for Policy Development Sessions – Drafting materials for discussion at meetings with outside experts on various methods to ensure the effective outcomes of policy or law and different mechanisms used in existing laws to finance extended time off.
- Working with Federal Agencies – Generating ideas for federal agencies interested in increasing workplace flexibility and drafting background materials for potential partnerships on these issues. (Workplace Flexibility 2010 is permitted to engage with agencies on such efforts.)
- Observing Constituency Building in Action – Attending Hill meetings, briefings and panels; participating in meetings with organizations in the employment, health, disability, child advocacy, emergency preparedness, faith, military, volunteer, and older worker fields. Debriefing these meetings with client staff and clinic members and staff.
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By engaging in these types of efforts, Clinic students learn and refine their skills in:
- Understanding and articulating a specific legal and political need of a client with regard to a particular policy issue;
- Planning and implementing a timely research strategy to meet a client’s legal and policy request;
- Analyzing the relevant legal and policy data;
- Drafting clear and effective legislative and policy documents;
- Presenting legal and policy issues in an effective oral manner
At the end of the semester, the students “write up” what they have learned during the Clinic semester and what most surprised them about what they have learned. These “write ups” can take many forms, bounded only by the creativity of the students, and have included over the years, Power Points, poetry, skits, and posters.
We include below one of the write-ups from Fall 2007. Please come by the Clinic office in room 340 McDonough if you are interested in seeing examples of other write-ups. We promise you that they are both informative and fun!
How to Be
in Six “Easy” Lessons
(by Tiphanie Miller, FLC F07)
Lesson #1: Get a Voice
The most effective superheroes know that it’s not only what you say, but how you say it. It doesn’t matter how much research you’ve done, if you can’t convince anyone to listen, you can’t advocate. And always remember your audience: why are you even there? Who are you representing? What’s your ask? Why are you wasting their time? If you can’t answer these questions, you’ll never be able to vanquish your legislative foes, even if you’ve written the best legal memo this side of Gotham City.
Lesson #2: Flex Your Text Muscle
Superheroes need super strength. As a legislative superhero, your super strength depends on how well you can flex your text muscle. Whether it’s the actual text of legislation, the legislative history, or the text of cases or regulations interpreting the text, being able to decipher the meaning of complicated and obtuse statutes is essential to being a legislative superhero.
Lesson #3: Create a Document
A superhero is only as good as his (or her) utility belt. The tools you have as a legislative superhero are the legal documents you create, based on your text muscle-flexing research. From your standard, multi-purpose legal memorandum, to a flashy and explosive chart, to an efficient one-pager, the tool you use depends a lot on the kind of information you want to present, how you want to present it, and why.
Lesson #4: Improve Your Writing Skills (or, “Holy Whirlybird, Batman!”)
Of course, you’re probably already a good writer. But there’s something about being a legislative superhero that requires more than good writing. Dynamic writing means you have to lose the passive voice, knock out repetitiveness, and plan ahead. Know the purpose of your document, and your audience, and use that to lay out your structure. Once you start writing, keep it professional: Arial 12-point font, privileged and confidential header, page numbers, the works. And don’t forget the footnotes!
Lesson #5: Learn the Legislative Process
Here’s where you can learn from the legislative superheroes that have gone before: ask Heather Sawyer to tell you about how the House works, or have Bob Dove show you a videotape of a procedural battle in the Senate that makes Superman’s battle in the Fortress of Solitude look like child’s play. Stop by a committee hearing, and learn about where the real action happens. Find out who’s who on the Hill, and how things get done, and you’re one step closer to bringing truth and justice to the legislative landscape.
Lesson #6: Join a Legislative Crime-Fighting Team
Batman was always a great crime-fighter, but it wasn’t until he joined the Justice League that he fully hit his stride. Likewise, a legislative superhero needs a good team, especially a great strategist, a Dr. Xavier who knows exactly what each superhero’s strengths are, and helps make sure the heroes’ weaknesses don’t drag down the whole team. Take your newfound legislative superpowers, join a team, and start fighting your way down the Road to Freedom!
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