About the class

Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:20pm – 5:20pm

LAW 1420

Class Format Chad Dunn, J.D. (chad@uclavrp.org) and Matt Barreto, Ph.D. (matt@uclavrp.org) are the instructors for this practicum. As we also serve as the directors of the UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP), this practicum course provides an opportunity for students to gain exclusive expert insight and guidance. Further, this practicum is unique in that students from various disciplines will be working together. The practicum consists of two parts: a 2-unit graded classroom seminar and an additional 2-unit casework component.

Seminar

In the seminar component of this practicum, law students will learn about the struggle for an equal right to vote, and the substantive voting rights related claims that can be enforced under federal law—with an emphasis on the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Law students will also learn a range of skills and tools utilized by active litigation practitioners. These skills include: litigation and trial techniques, legal research and policy analysis; motion and discovery work; interviewing clients, witnesses and experts; witness examination at deposition and trial; obtaining and analyzing census and election data; performing basic racial polarization analysis to determine voter behavior; working with experts to prepare expert reports; developing and implementing settlement strategies; consulting stakeholders; presenting oral advocacy; and participating in community education, media campaigns, and coalition-building, among others.You will be expected to participate in class sessions and contribute to discussions on class material. The final for the coursework component of the class will be to draft a federal complaint alleging that a particular political subdivision (i.e., city, county, school board, water district, etc.) is in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  As noted below, class days will be devoted to helping you prepare your complaint, and you will be provided complaints filed in real cases to work from as guidance. The seminar component to this class will take place in person, during Tuesdays and Thursdays until the non-law students join the class on September 26th. 

Thereafter, the seminar will take place, in person, on Thursdays only. Starting October 1st, the Tuesday class sessions will transition online—by zoom, where we will discuss our docket, active case work, and provide feedback to you. Included below on the Tuesday sessions after September 26th are suggestions for additional readings and course material. Your review of this material is completely voluntary, but discussion time will be reserved on Tuesdays for students who wish to consider these topics. 

Case Work 

In addition to the two-unit class, students can enroll in the two-unit casework part of the practicum. Each student enrolled will be assigned to one of the VRP voting rights supervising attorneys, who will assign you to one or more pending UCLA VRP case(s)/matter(s) and will act as your primary point of contact on the casework you are assigned. UCLA Law graduate and UCLA VRP Program Manager/Voting Rights Counsel, Sonni Waknin, will occasionally assist with course instruction and will help facilitate casework for her assigned students. Sonni can be reached at sonni@uclavrp.org. Bernadette Reyes, UCLA VRP Voting Rights Counsel, will also occasionally assist with course instruction and will facilitate casework with her assigned students. Bernadette can be reached at bernadette@uclavrp.org.  

You will also have access to and occasional feedback from Prof. Dunn. You will meet with Prof. Dunn and your supervising attorney every Tuesday beginning on October 1st. Each student will be assigned a meeting time with their attorney lead, and once all students have been individually met with, the larger class will reconvene for an optional review and discussion subject material marked as ‘optional’ for that day.

Because the VRP, in addition to providing clinical education, is a real practicing public interest law firm, the cases on file at a given time vary in stages, and therefore the types of casework that are available to assign will as well. Casework can relate to matters from initial contact with clients and case filings, all the way through trial, and briefing and arguments at the state or U.S. Supreme Court. You will be relied upon to prepare legal work product in real pending voting rights cases on behalf of real clients. The VRP will be relying upon you to complete assignments on time and sometimes the same project may be assigned to several practicum students to ensure, when combined, we produce the best work product for our clients. 

Given VRP’s rapidly moving docket, you will not always receive detailed comments or feedback on your casework. In all cases, you will be able to see the final, filed and used work product that you assist with. In addition, we will endeavor to identify at least one assignment this semester in which you will receive detailed feedback and red-lines from the VRP lawyers. On the remainder of the casework, your review of the final filed and used papers will be your opportunity to self-reflect on your casework. 

Because casework stems from pending legal matters, casework will ebb and flow in terms of due dates and quantity. That said, every effort will be made to work with your other commitments and academic requirements. Most assignments will be assigned weeks before the due date.  Nevertheless, if you require structure and known weekly deadlines, the casework portion of the practicum may not be a good fit. You may still enroll in the two-unit seminar portion of the practicum.

Administrative Matters 

VRP Administrative Coordinator, Alysa Guzman, should be your point of contact for all administrative matters (confirming or locating a reading, assignment instructions, or due date, obtaining information (file access, enrolling in a subscription, class information, etc.)) Alysa can be reached at alysa@uclavrp.org. You are free to contact Prof. Dunn, Prof. Barreto, or the VRP staff attorneys as needed.

Class Meetings

Classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:20pm until 5:20pm, in person in LAW 1420. Class may occasionally be held via zoom to the extent permitted by university policy but assume the class will be held in person unless advised otherwise. Beginning September 26th, non-law students will join the course and will attend Thursday class meetings only. These non-law students include Ph.D, masters, and a handful of personally selected undergraduate students from the College of Social Science and Luskin School of Public Affairs. These Thursday joint classes will allow law and social science students to gain interdisciplinary knowledge, which is essential for a practicing voting/civil rights attorney. Once the non-law students join the class, sessions exclusively with law students will continue Tuesdays, by zoom.

An outline of the course subject matter is included below. This should be the actual readings and material covered on those class days. Readings will be available on Bruin Learn. However, case events may require the instructor(s) to be in deposition, or court on a class day. On those days, other VRP personnel other than Prof. Dunn or Prof. Barreto may teach the course, that class day may be offered by zoom only, there may be a change in programing for that day, or in extremely rare cases, the class day may have to be cancelled. Students can also expect adjustments to these daily topics depending on recent voting rights jurisprudence, election events and/or case activity in pending VRP legal matters.

Because our in-class discussions often include confidential information and sensitive topics, our class sessions are not recorded. Further, we understand life’s challenges occur constantly – if you face an interruption to your normal routine and schedule due to an illness, a family member in need, increased caretaking responsibilities, or other personal issues, please contact a faculty member as soon as possible so that we can plan together. It is also critical that you be in regular communication with your assigned staff counsel so that they can step in for a client obligation where and if needed.

Because the non-law students are enrolled by quarter and the law school enrolls by semester, class instruction for non-law students only will continue after Thanksgiving and during the law school dead week period.  Law students are welcome to attend these days, but they are NOT required to attend class after Thanksgiving.  No record will be taken of law students who attend or don’t attend classes that are held after Thanksgiving.

Course Materials

We will make course readings and other assigned multimedia available through online links below, our course website, and Bruin Learn; the clinic has no required text for purchase.  Whatever you may see elsewhere, you do not need to purchase any book. We will use a compendium of our own source materials, including excerpted readings from notable voting rights cases (district court opinions, complaints, trial transcripts, depositions, etc.), example notice letters filed by the UCLA VRP as well as other voting rights organizations, social science papers, law reviews, and non-periodical articles compiled by the instructors.

Learning Objectives

Research and Analysis of Relevant Law and Policy

1. Students will understand voting rights law and evolving jurisprudence on the Right to Vote.
2. Students will be tasked with investigating jurisdictions within the U.S. to identify and determine possible voting-related violations. 
3. Students will continue to develop and assist in litigating cases developed by earlier cohorts of this class.
4. Students will learn to analyze election results and racial data to infer racially polarized voting, the most important factor in a VRA Section 2 lawsuit. 

Core Lawyering Skills

• Through seminar classes and fieldwork, students will develop lawyering skills required to prepare for and bring successful civil rights cases, including:

1. Fact investigation 
2. Client retention and communication
3. Legal research and analysis 
4. Drafting notice letter, complaints, declarations, discovery and pleadings, etc. 
5. Communicating with clients, including interviewing and counseling
6. Developing and implementing litigation strategies 
7. Working with coalition partners
8. Working with experts and preparing preliminary expert analysis to determine viability of legal claims
9. Working with opposing counsel
10. Deposition preparation and process
11. Evidence presentation
12. Oral advocacy and Trial Lawyering

Grading

This practicum consists of two, 2-unit enrollment numbers. LAW 832 is the class that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  LAW 810 is optional additional casework part of the practicum. You must enroll in LAW 832; you may elect to enroll in LAW 810.  Typically, LAW 810 registration is for 2 units, however, some students require 1 or 3 units to fit into their schedule or academic requirements. Let Prof. Dunn know if enrolling in 2 units is not the best option for you.
LAW 810: There is no grade assigned for the casework. Nevertheless, the VRP, its attorneys, and clients are counting on you to perform your legal work to your highest ability. The VRP has historically enjoyed a high job placement rate for students who went through our program. VRP attorneys regularly issue recommendation letters for deserving students.  

LAW 832: Your final grade will be based upon completion of the following:

1. Class preparation and contribution: 30%
2. Final written draft complaint: 70% 

Other than the complaint you turn in at the end of the finals period, there will be no other graded assignment. 

Spring Semester:

Every year 6-8 law students choose to stay on with the VRP into the Spring Semester.  In the Spring, students may enroll in independent study (or another course number approved by the Faculty Senate) to keep working on casework and receive additional instruction on voting rights law, political mapping, and more advanced social science methods used to prove voting cases.