Georgetown Law Commits to Fighting the Looming Eviction Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Georgetown University Law Center announced today that it is committing to do everything possible to help address the massive eviction crisis threatening millions of families and individuals in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision to end the Biden Administration’s eviction moratorium.

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, six million U.S. households are behind rent, with over half fearing imminent eviction, Attorney General Merrick Garland warned today.

“This is a terrible crisis for families across the country, and a terrible crisis for many families right here in the nation’s capital,” said Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor. “I am proud that Georgetown is answering the Attorney General’s call to action and joining law schools across the country and leaders of the bar in committing to help the millions of people facing the loss of their homes in the midst of this terrible pandemic.”

“Georgetown Law will be on the front lines of protecting the many Washington, D.C., residents now in danger of losing their homes,” said Treanor, who helped lead an effort to enlist law school deans across the country in joining the national response.

Georgetown Law clinics and its pro bono office have already begun developing initiatives in collaboration with legal services partners to ensure assistance for those facing eviction.

Among them is the law school’s Health Justice Alliance Clinic, which partners with health care providers to identify and address vulnerable patients’ underlying legal needs. The Georgetown Health Justice Alliance a collaboration between Georgetown Law and Georgetown University Medical Center, will expand its work to provide area medical partners with specialized training and materials that help ensure at-risk families understand their housing rights, can access emergency rental and utility assistance, and, ultimately, remain housed.

“Eviction has grave consequences for the health and mental health of families, and access to emergency rental assistance is critical to keeping people housed and to safeguarding the wellbeing of entire communities,” Treanor said. “I’m so grateful to our many faculty, staff and students who are ready to step up at this time of crisis and provide legal aid that will ensure vulnerable families can stay in their homes.”

Treanor is among 44 law school deans to commit to addressing the looming eviction and housing crisis in the statement below.

Statement of Law School Deans in Support of the Attorney General’s Call to the Legal Community

We, the deans of law schools across the United States, agree with Attorney General Garland that the legal profession is well positioned to provide support for tenants, landlords, and courts in the looming housing and eviction crisis. As law school deans responsible for training the next generation of lawyers to be stewards of an effective, equitable, and just legal system, we feel obliged to do our part. Therefore, we are working with our faculty and students to take immediate and meaningful action to combat this crisis. Drawing on resources such as our pro bono programs, clinical offerings, and the service of our larger law school communities, we will help ensure that families and individuals facing eviction have the legal representation, counseling, and assistance they need to exercise their rights, that those entitled to the support of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program are able to access it, and that eviction proceedings are conducted in a fair and just manner.

Alicia Ouellette
Albany Law School

Roger A. Fairfax, Jr.
American University Washington College of Law

Angela Onwuachi-Willig
Boston University School of Law

Michael T. Cahill
Brooklyn Law School

Eduardo R.C. Capulong
City University of New York School of Law

Gillian Lester
Columbia Law School

Jens David Ohlin
Cornell Law School

Danielle Conway
Dickinson Law

Kerry Abrams
Duke University School of Law

Matthew Diller
Fordham University School of Law

William M. Treanor
Georgetown University Law Center

John F. Manning
Harvard Law School

Gail Prudenti
Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law

Danielle Holley-Walker
Howard University School of Law

Anthony W. Crowell
New York Law School

Trevor W. Morrison
New York University School of Law

Hari M. Osofsky
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

G. Marcus Cole
Notre Dame Law School

Horace E. Anderson
Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law

James W. Houck
Penn State Law

Rose Cuison-Villazor and Kimberly Mutcherson
Rutgers Law School

Michael A. Simons
St. John’s University School of Law

Jenny S. Martinez
Stanford Law School

Craig M. Boise
Syracuse University College of Law

Dayna Bowen Matthew
The George Washington University Law School

Elena B. Langan
Touro Law Center

Jennifer L. Mnookin
UCLA School of Law

Aviva Abramovsky
University at Buffalo School of Law, The State University of New York

Ronald Weich
University of Baltimore School of Law

Erwin Chemerinsky
University of California, Berkeley School of Law

Laura Ann Rosenbury
University of Florida Levin College of Law

Leonard M. Baynes
University of Houston Law Center

Donald B. Tobin
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Mark D. West
University of Michigan Law School

Garry W. Jenkins
University of Minnesota Law School

Theodore W. Ruger
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Wendy C. Perdue
University of Richmond School of Law

William C. Hubbard
University of South Carolina School of Law

Andrew T. Guzman
University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Renée McDonald Hutchins
University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law

Chris Guthrie
Vanderbilt Law School

Richard A. Bierschbach
Wayne State University Law School

Heather K. Gerken
Yale Law School

Melanie Leslie
Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law