National Study Highlights Law Schools’ Central Role in Safeguarding Housing and Community Stability

NEW YORK, NY – New York Law School’s (NYLS) Housing Justice Leadership Institute today released Building the Housing Justice Pipeline: Law Schools’ Role in the Right to Counsel Movement, a first-of-its-kind national report examining how U.S. law schools are preparing the next generation of attorneys to advance housing justice and protect tenants facing eviction. Based on responses from 81 law schools across 37 states and Washington, D.C., the report offers a roadmap to strengthen the “housing justice pipeline” from law school to legal practice.

Read the full Report

The study comes as the nationwide Right to Counsel movement—first launched in New York City in 2017—continues to expand rapidly. Since that landmark legislation, 26 jurisdictions, including five states, have enacted similar laws guaranteeing free legal representation for tenants at risk of eviction. This unprecedented expansion of access to justice has fueled demand for thousands of new housing attorneys.

“Across the country, the intertwined crises of housing affordability and eviction require a response of equal proportion,” said Anthony W. Crowell, Dean and President, New York Law School. “As the Right to Counsel becomes the law in more local jurisdictions around the country, New York Law School is proud to be among the institutions that are meeting the moment and creating a pipeline of legal talent to help their local communities. This report highlights the important progress made at many law schools and underscores the urgent need for every institution of legal higher education to expand clinical opportunities, faculty investment, and support for students pursuing this work.”

The report is authored by Erica Braudy, Coordinator of NYLS’s Housing Rights Clinic and Deputy Director of the Housing Unit at Manhattan Legal Services, with contributions from Professor Andrew Scherer, Policy Director of NYLS’s Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law, Director of the Right to Counsel Project, and the Co-Director of the Housing Justice Leadership Institute; Adjunct Professor Tom Honan, Supervising Attorney at Manhattan Legal Services, and Tuhfa Begum, an attorney at Manhattan Legal Services.

The report details how law schools have responded to the growing need for trained eviction defense attorneys.

Key Findings:

• 63% of surveyed law schools now offer a housing justice or tenants’ rights clinic.
• 60% of these clinics were launched after 2017—more in the past seven years than in the previous five decades combined.
• 84% of clinics provide direct representation to tenants facing eviction.
• 64% of law schools reported partnerships with legal services, tenant advocacy, or housing policy organizations.
• An estimated 1,350 new housing justice jobs have been created since 2017, with more expected as Right to Counsel programs expand.

“Law schools have a pivotal role to play in preparing students to enter this fast-expanding field of law,” said Professor Andrew Scherer, Policy Director of the NYLS Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law.“I was proud to help lead New York City’s passage of its Right to Counsel Law, and since then many schools have initiated their own housing law programs. This is cause for celebration, but we hope our report demonstrates that more can and must be done to ensure there are enough skilled, committed attorneys to carry this work forward. Much more.”

“The data confirms what we see every day: law schools are stepping up to meet a growing need, but the gap remains significant,” said Erica Braudy, Housing Rights Clinic Coordinator and Adjunct Professor of Law.“To truly sustain the Right to Counsel, we need every law school investing in clinics, paid internships, and career pathways that prepare students for housing justice work. New York City’s law schools and legal services organizations have led the way, and I look forward to even more schools meeting this critical moment so our profession does its part to keep communities intact and people in their homes.”

Key Recommendations

The report calls on law schools, funders, and policymakers to:

• Establish or expand housing justice clinics—particularly in jurisdictions with Right to Counsel laws.
• Invest in housing justice educators and provide sustainable clinical faculty positions.
• Support students through paid internships, fellowships, and loan forgiveness.
• Integrate housing justice topics into the first-year law curriculum.
• Build partnerships between law schools and legal aid or tenant advocacy organizations.