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LSRJ Turns Ten!

Ten years ago – May 15, 2003 – LSRJ was born.

10 years.

100 chapters at law schools across the country.

Thousands of law students and lawyers all dedicated to providing legal expertise and support for the realization of reproductive justice.

We’re mighty proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish for the RJ movement in the last decade. Click here to learn more about some of our best moments and to find out how you can support our future endeavors.

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2013 Sarah Weddington Writing Prize Winners

Announcing the Winners of the 2013 Student Writing Prize

In collaboration with the Center for Reproductive Rights, LSRJ is pleased to announce the winners of the eighth annual Sarah Weddington Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights.

This year’s theme was “Economic (in)Justice of Reproductive Regulation.” Winning authors received cash prizes: $750 (1st place), $500 (2nd place), or $250 (3rd place). Full text of the articles will be available soon.

First place: Kathryn Benedict, J.D. candidate (’14 Columbia Law School) for “When Might Does Not Create Religious Rights: For-Profit Corporations’ Employees and the Contraceptive Coverage Mandate”

Second place: Katherine Jacob, J.D. (’12 Case Western Reserve University School of Law) for “Laying in [Wait]: Pregnancy Support Lessons from the Brehon Laws”

Third place: Laurah Samuels, J.D. candidate (’13 Columbia Law School) for “Mifepristone Protocol Legislation: The Anti-choice Movement’s Disingenuous Method of Attack on the Reproductive Rights of Women and How Courts Should Respond”

Honorable mention: Lauren Goldsmith, J.D. candidate (’13 University of California, Berkeley School of Law) for “Redefining Viability: Why the State Must Ensure Viable Alternatives to Pregnancy and Motherhood”

Please see the Press Release for more information.

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2013-14 RJ Fellows & Placement Organizations

We proudly announce the participants in the fourth year of this ground-breaking, change-making, one-of-a-kind fellowship program! Once again, this year’s selection process saw an extraordinarily high caliber of fellow applicants and amazing organizations.

Congratulations to the following individuals and organizations:

Jamille Fields - National Health Law Program (NHeLP)
Lillian Hewko - National Women’s Health Network (NWHN)
Tiana Patterson - Black Women’s Health Imperative
Lauren Paulk - National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
Agata Pelka - National Abortion Federation (NAF)
Kashif Syed - Advocates for Youth (AFY)

For more information about the 2013-14 RJ Fellows, please see the Fellow Bios. The 2013-14 fellowship term begins in August 2013.

In addition to the six new Fellows, three current RJ Fellows will be staying on at their organizations for a second year as part of the Matching Stipend Program:

Deodonne Bhattarai - Asian & Pacific Islander Am. Health Forum
Christine Poquiz -National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
Candace Gibson - National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Together we are fostering legal expertise for the RJ movement!

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Course Survey Updated with 2011-12 Data

LSRJ found that a total of 42 law schools - 21.5% of schools surveyed - in 19 states reported having one or more Reproductive Rights Law & Justice (RRLJ) course offerings over the 2003 to 2012 period.  These offerings amount to a total of 59 unique RRLJ courses or reading groups, and a third of these courses resulted from Course Campaigns led by LSRJ members

 Download the 2011 Reproductive Rights Law & Justice Course Survey (PDF)

 Download the NEW 2012 Addendum (PDF)

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Earn CLEs with LSRJ - sign up today!

LSRJ is proud to announce that three of our 2013 regional conferences are currently open to practicing attorneys for CLE credit! 

Midwest
Saturday, January 26 at DePaul University College of the Law
5.75 CLE credits are available

Mid-Atlantic
Saturday, February 9 at American University Washington College of the Law
3.5 CLE credits may be available for this conference and accreditation will be applied for as requested

South
Saturday, February 23 at Tulane University Law School
355 minutes of instruction has been submitted for approval of a total of 5.9 CLE credits

If you are in the Chicago, New Orleans, or DC area, join the LSRJ national office, LSRJ chapter members, and reproductive rights and justice experts in a day-long conference.  This is also a great way to introduce reproductive health, rights, and justice to your colleagues!  Please forward this opportunity to your networks. 

For more information, please contact Keely Monroe at keely [at] lsrj [dot] org. Don’t live in Chicago, New Orleans, or DC?  Stay tuned for more CLE opportunities in a city near you…

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