CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW Authors to Moderate Discussion Group on Affirmative Litigation

The Shriver Center editorial staff will host and moderate an online discussion of affirmative advocacy strategies and leadership development needs in legal aid following the publication of articles on these topics in the March–April 2008 issue of Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy. The articles and discussion group will be open to all, subscribers and nonsubscribers alike.

Ross Doloff, the national training director of the Center for Legal Aid Education, writes that advocates often feel overwhelmed and stifled by heavy caseloads and daily demands. Doloff proposes that organizations reprioritize and allow for more structural, proactive approaches to advocacy. A companion piece coauthored by the fellows of the Center for Legal Aid Education’s Leadership Institute expresses frustration over newer advocates’ experiences in legal services and what they view as inflexible, highly stratified organizations resistant to change. The fellows assert that a more open leadership structure will foster more dynamic organizations. More information about these topics can be found at http://www.legalaideducation.org/in_the_news?wid=1216&func=viewSubmission&sid=718.

Seeking to encourage dialogue and debate over these provocative articles, the Shriver Center’s online discussants will include Doloff and the fellows. Readers will be invited to post comments, suggestions, and questions for the authors. Registration and participation are free, and there is no requirement that participants be subscribers to the Review.

The discussion group will go live on April 21, but participants are encouraged to sign up now. Visit http://groups.google.com/group/clearinghousereview_affirmativeadvocacy/subscribe, where you may sign in with your current Google account or create a new account. Note that you may create an account to access the discussion group by using your current e-mail address—you do not have to sign up for a Google e-mail address.

Look for more information at www.povertylaw.org, in future issues of Poverty Action Report, and in the March–April 2008 issue of the Review.