Regent University School of Law took immediate action to increase housing stability and access to justice in Hampton Roads
On January 28, the
White House and the Department of Justice convened with Regent University
School of Law and other law schools who responded to the Attorney General’s
Call to Action to the Legal Profession to address the housing and
eviction crisis.
Regent Law – along with 98 other law schools in 35 states
and Puerto Rico – immediately committed to helping prevent evictions. Regent
Law expanded its law clinic by launching an Eviction Diversion Initiative and
by hiring a full-time housing fellow to help provide free legal aid to the
Hampton Roads community. Since August, the Regent Law clinic has already
helped more than 600 struggling renters who qualify for free legal assistance.
At least 65% of those households have children in them.
“Five months ago, I asked the legal community to answer the
call to help Americans facing eviction,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick
Garland. “Law students and lawyers from across the country stepped up to
take on cases and assisted their clients and communities at a time when our
country needed it the most. Today, our work is far from over, and making real
the promise of equal justice under law remains our urgent and unfinished
mission.”
Law schools drew on resources, such as pro bono and
externship programs, clinical offerings, and the service of the larger law
school community to help struggling families avoid eviction through rental
assistance application support, volunteering with legal aid providers, helping
courts implement eviction diversion programs, among other initiatives aimed at
increasing housing stability and access to justice.
“We salute the law school deans, faculty, and students for
answering our call, and for using their legal skills to further the cause of
access to justice,” said Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. “Their efforts will
provide dignity, housing security, and justice to millions of families across
our country.”
Officials from The White House, the Department of Justice,
and the Treasury Department recognized Regent Law and other law schools who
responded to the Attorney General’s Call to Action to the Legal Profession to
address the housing and eviction crisis. During the meeting, attendees heard
from the following speakers:
- Second
Gentleman Douglas Emhoff
- Attorney
General Merrick Garland
- Vanita
Gupta, Associate Attorney General of the United States
- Deputy
Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo
- Gene
Sperling, Senior Advisor to the President, American Rescue Plan
Coordinator
“We at Regent Law are honored to help local families facing
eviction and distress,” said Mark Martin, dean of Regent Law and former Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. “I am so proud of our faculty
and students for using their talents to benefit others and working to ensure
access to justice for these families.”
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About Regent University
Founded in 1978, Regent
University is America’s premier Christian university with more than
11,000 students studying on its 70-acre campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and
online around the world. The university offers associate, bachelor’s,
master’s, and doctoral degrees in more than 150 areas of study
including business, communication and the arts, counseling, cybersecurity,
divinity, education, government, law, leadership, nursing, healthcare, and
psychology. Regent University is ranked the #1 Best Accredited Online College
in the United States (Study.com, 2020), the #1 Safest College Campus in
Virginia (YourLocalSecurity, 2021), and the #1 Best Online Bachelor’s Program
in Virginia for 10 years in a row (U.S. News & World Report, 2022).
About Regent Law
Regent Law’s more
than 4,465 graduates practice law in all 50 states and over 20 countries and
include 38 currently sitting judges. The School of Law ranks in the top 11
percent of all law schools for graduates obtaining judicial clerkships and
ranked 20th in the nation for Ultimate Bar Passage in 2019. The
school offers the Juris
Doctor (J.D.) in three-year and part-time formats, an online M.A. in Law, an
online M.A. in
Financial Planning & Law, an on-campus and online LL.M. in Human Rights, and
an on-campus and online LL.M. in
American Legal Studies.