Faculty voice: Training the next generation of lawyers to promote fair housing

Donovan McCarty is an assistant professor in the College of Law, where he has been named the new director of the Housing Justice Clinic.

With more than a decade of public-interest legal experience, I am beyond excited to join Michigan State University College of Law to direct its Housing Justice Clinic, which advances the cause of safe, clean and fair affordable housing in mid-Michigan.

I most recently served as managing attorney at the Detroit Justice Center, where I led housing justice and land-use litigation. I previously taught at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit and received my Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.

My work has focused on protecting tenants and homeowners through direct representation, policy advocacy and community partnerships, and I am excited to bring this experience to the clinic.

Housing is at the foundation of creating a better life. If you don’t have a safe, secure, affordable and permanent place to live, that’s all you think about day in and day out.

I was drawn to MSU Law for its holistic approach to housing justice. While many law school clinics deal primarily with eviction defense, we have an opportunity to expand the clinic’s reach to include cases that traditional legal services don’t have the capacity for, such as land-use policies that disproportionately affect low-income and underserved communities.

At the clinic at MSU, we will concentrate on advocacy and finding solutions for our clients by listening to them. They can best tell us where the law is failing them. Then we can all work together to determine what we’re going to do about it. Litigation is not always the best first solution.

Part of our initial work will focus on deed fraud — a deceptive transfer of property ownership that largely affects elderly, low-income residents and those in high-vacancy neighborhoods, where confusion surrounding ownership can be exploited.

Deed fraud cases are usually not overly complex, but they are highly engaging. Because of that, they’re an ideal training ground for young lawyers. Students will learn how to listen and investigate while rebuilding trust with clients who’ve been harmed.

The Housing Justice Clinic is one of seven high-impact, social justice-focused clinics offered at MSU Law that primarily serve low- to moderate-income residents in Michigan with rental or homeowner issues.

The clinic is currently enrolling students for the upcoming academic year. Students at the clinic will have the opportunity to work with clients, investigate and research case law, draft pleadings and memoranda and advocate on behalf of clients in various forums, among other skills.

At the Housing Justice Clinic, I want to foster an environment where students develop not only technical legal skills but also collaborative instincts. Housing law is more than property. It’s about people’s sense of security and place.