Advocacy & Volunteer

The purpose of HAYA is to raise awareness of youth law (including dependency, juvenile justice and education) as legal fields and provide a community for law students interested in legal work with youth. The goals of HAYA are as follows: to train students in dependency, education, and juvenile justice law to support their success in advocating for minor clients in various areas of youth law; promote outreach and pro bono opportunities in youth advocacy both independently and in partnership with other legal organizations that serve our common purpose; and advocate for better programming, funding, and faculty for child- and youth-related law at UC Law SF.

Contact: haya@uchastings.edu

The Hastings to Haiti Partnership (HHP) advances the rule of law and promotes human rights in Haiti by supporting the country’s legal education and engaging in human rights advocacy. HHP represents a collaboration of UC Law SF and École Supérieure Catholique de Droit de Jérémie (ESCDROJ), the only law school in Haiti dedicated to preparing students to serve the public interest. Since 1999, HHP has sent annual delegations of UC Law SF faculty and students to our sister school in Haiti, and we have also hosted several delegations of Haitian lawyers and students in San Francisco.

To keep the partnership open to all UC Law SF and ESCDROJ students, HHP solicits donations that help defray the costs of travel. Donations will also provide much needed resources to support the launch of the first Criminal Justice Clinic at the law school in Haiti. We also welcome in-kind donations such as laptop computers and airline miles and provide opportunities for lawyers and other advocates in the Bay Area to mentor Haitian law students.

Contact: hhp@uchastings.edu

Hastings Human Rights and International Law Organization (“HHRILO”) brings awareness of international public interest and international private law issues to campus, and provides opportunities for all Hastings students to engage in substantive legal work. HHRILO is a space for students interested in international law to explore and develop their passion. The purpose of HHRILO is to provide the opportunity for all Hastings students to engage in substantive legal work in the area of international human rights.

Contact: hhrilo@uchastings.edu

Hastings Prisoner Outreach (HPO) seeks to serve, uplift, and empower incarcerated persons through organized volunteer efforts. We coordinate with Prisoner Legal Services, California Coalition of Women Prisoners, and various other organizations. HPO seeks to give students an opportunity to engage with issues concerning incarcerated persons, to give students an opportunity to learn about the criminal justice process post-conviction and to provide support to incarcerated persons.

Contact: hpo@uchastings.edu.

The mission of UC Law SF Students for Immigrants’ Rights is to help students translate an immigration law interest to an immigration law career. Our purpose is to provide our members opportunities to engage directly with the immigration community and gain experience as advocates themselves. We hope to educate our members, and the broader UC Law SF community, about the immigration field and to connect our members with attorneys active in the field.

Contact: HSIR@uchastings.edu.

The purpose of Homeless Legal Services (HLS) is to provide legal services to the homeless and to provide law students an opportunity to work with both clients and lawyers on solving legal issues.

Contact: homelesslegalservices@uchastings.edu

The goal of the UC Law SF chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice (IWH) is to ensure that a new generation of advocates will be prepared to protect and expand reproductive rights as basic civil and human rights for all. IWH educates, organizes, and supports students around a wide range of topics, from paid family leave and comprehensive sex education to abortion access and the reproductive rights of immigrants in detention facilities.

Contact: ifwhenhow@uchastings.edu.

The purpose of Law Students for Sensible Drug Policy (LSSDP) is to mobilize and empower law students to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future, while fighting back against counterproductive “Drug War” policies, particularly those that directly harm students and youth.

Contact: lssdp@uchastings.edu.

The purpose of the UC Law SF Student Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is to bring together progressive law students under the principle that human and civil rights are more sacred than property rights. The NLG has 20 issue-based national committees, projects, and tasks forces working in virtually all areas of public interest and movement law.  Law students are the NLG’s fastest growing membership category, with 100+ chapters at law schools nationwide. Law students work on a variety of issues, organizing on and off campus.

Contact: nlg@uchastings.edu