New program will let NU law students gain experience while helping those facing eviction

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Housing Justice Program, a project to protect tenant rights, is being launched at the University of Nebraska College of Law.

 The law school is partnering with other legal service providers and nonprofits to expand the work of the Tenant Assistance Project, which works to curb eviction and housing problems by connecting renters with federal and state aid.

The Tenant Assistance Project has helped more than 2,000 Nebraska families avoid eviction since it began in 2020.

The law school’s program will include the Housing Justice Fellowship Program and the Housing Justice Clinic.

The clinic will be the sixth legal clinic at UNL and will offer hands-on training to law students, like working with attorneys to represent tenants in court.

Thirty to 40 students will participate in the clinic. 

The inaugural housing justice fellows are Alan Dugger and Rachel Tomlinson Dick.

They will train, mentor and supervise students through the eviction process.

Richard Moberly, the dean of the College of Law, said in a press release that the program “will continue to advance justice” for tenants in Nebraska.