Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary’s new Community Law Clinic wants to help local tenants have a fair chance at stable housing. In partnership with the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia, the clinic will host a free eviction expungement clinic and housing workshop Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Stryker Center. Visitors will be able to meet with law students and attorneys to review their past eviction records as well as determine their eligibility to have rental histories and evictions removed. Attendees can also learn strategies to improve their attractiveness as tenants. Tyler Dougherty, a clinical assistant law professor at W&M, is the director of the Community Law Clinic. Dougherty said the workshop will also feature the Braun Financial Literacy Program, a group led by students from the university’s business school. They will talk to attendees about tools to improve their credit scores, even with an eviction, she said. The clinic, which opened this fall, provides free legal services to low-income individuals and families across the Hampton Roads area, focusing on housing justice. It also provides students a firsthand experience in public interest law. Joining the faculty this past July, Dougherty said the clinic is based off a community need for “greater civil legal support throughout Hampton Roads.” The clinic was funded through $500,000 in state appropriations from the Virginia General Assembly and a $750,000 donation from Amy Kreisler, a law school alumna, and her husband Nevin. As it expands, the clinic hopes to take on eviction and unlawful detainer cases as well as general housing condition issues, she said. The clinic operates with the help of eight students in their third year of law school, who are able to practice under Dougherty’s supervision. “We’ve been spending the past few months meeting with a lot of local community organizations and we’ve been resoundingly hearing that there are particular needs to represent tenants and to focus on certain housing issues in the area,” Dougherty said. A New Jersey native whose background is working with young people involved in the criminal legal system, Dougherty has taught as an adjunct professor at the Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey, and at the University of Tennessee Law School. She said community members have been welcoming and excited about the clinic. “Which is so validating, but also feels really exciting about the work that we can do,” she said. Dougherty said she hope to eventually expand the clinic with more staff and students and help more people. She also wants the clinic to be a resource to people throughout the Hampton Roads. James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
