The White House and Department of Justice Meet Virtually with Regent Law Faculty and Students for Answering Attorney General’s Call to Action for Stronger Access to Justice and Court Reform on Eviction Prevention
Regent University School of Law took immediate action to increase housing stability and access to justice in Hampton Roads
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 31, 2022) – 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.”
###
About Regent University
Founded in 1977, 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.