FARMWORKER LEGAL AID CLINIC

The Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic (FLAC) at Villanova Law represents farmworkers and their families and provides legal support for organizations working to empower workers and end the racial and economic injustices impacting these communities.

One of only two clinics dedicated to farmworkers in the nation, FLAC provides much-needed pro bono legal representation to marginalized workers living and working in rural areas of Pennsylvania in industries ranging from mushrooms to apples to dairy farms to meat production.

Villanova Law students in FLAC work in teams, form meaningful relationships with their clients and oftentimes meet with clients in their own neighborhoods to best learn about their client’s community, perspective and working conditions. Students also have the opportunity to learn from and may work with community organizations. Our projects with our community partners have included trainings for staff and youth at community centers, legal research for a coalition seeking to close an immigrant detention center and filing FOIA requests for information on immigration enforcement in Pennsylvania.

FLAC students are assigned cases and projects based on their personal goals and interests. They are the primary advocates for their clients and gain significant legal experience in cases such as deportation defense matters, including asylum, cancellation of removal proceedings, visa applications for immigrant youth and visas for victims of labor trafficking and other serious crimes. Students have also represented agricultural workers seeking redress for employment issues including sexual harassment, wage theft, workers compensation, dangerous working conditions, unemployment benefits and retaliatory discharge.

SKILLS DEVELOPED

Case Planning

Case Management

Interviewing and Counseling

Persuasive Writing

Narrative Theory

Professional Presentation and Oral Argument

Client-Centered Lawyering

Attorney/Client Relationship Building

Team Collaboration

Lawyering with Interpreters

"FLAC embodied why I chose to become a lawyer. Not only did I gain practical legal skills, I also learned how to counsel, advise and emphasize my clients’ needs and goals. Moreover, I had opportunities to engage with the greater farmworker population and help use the law as a tool to educate and advocate for the community." - Rodrigo Rivera '20

CONTACT US

NEWS

Villanova Law Welcomes New Faculty Members in Fall 2023

Beginning in fall 2023, Villanova Law welcomed new faculty members, including Daniel Cortes, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services (CARES); Waseem Moorad, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic; and Caroline Wick, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law Clinic. MORE...

Villanova Law Launches Caritas Clemency Clinic

In spring 2023, Villanova Law launched the Caritas Clemency Clinic, a new in-house legal clinic providing pro bono legal services to incarcerated individuals who are seeking federal compassionate release from prison. Under the guidance of Clinic Director Amanda Rogers, Villanova Law student-attorneys will gain valuable hands-on legal experience while serving as the primary advocates for their incarcerated clients. MORE...

Clinical Work Combines Accounting with Legal Knowledge

After completing his 1L year, Seth Wasserman '23 had the opportunity to combine his financial literacy background with his legal knowledge. During the summer of 2021, he worked as a student attorney in the Federal Tax Clinic, one of the in-house legal clinics at Villanova Law where students provide pro bono legal representation to low-income individuals in dispute with the IRS. MORE...

Sowing Seeds of Justice

Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law may seem an unlikely host for the Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic (FLAC), but one in ten jobs in Pennsylvania is in the agriculture industry. Villanova is located just an hour away from Kennett Square, the “mushroom capital of the world,” and a few hours’ drive from central Pennsylvania’s apple and peach orchards. In terms of mission, the fit is perfect. MORE...

Passion for Family Law Begins in Villanova Law’s Civil Justice Clinic

When Kayla Fattell ’21 began her clinical experience as a student attorney in Villanova’s Civil Justice Clinic, she had never worked with an actual client facing a legal issue, and she had certainly never represented a client in a hearing. Fast forward less than four months later, Fattell found herself successfully petitioning on behalf of her client before a judge on a life-changing immigration case. MORE...