Legal Literacy at Work

LLAW creates cohorts of currently and formerly incarcerated fellows who have experience using the law while incarcerated. LLAW fellows collaborate with law students and lawyers on the Jailhouse Lawyers Manual (JLM) to make it more accessible to those who rely on it to assert their legal rights. The LLAW fellowship also provides long-term mentorship and policy opportunities to place fellows in leadership roles in the field of legal advocacy and change. 

The LLAW Fellowship is a ten-month part-time program for currently and formerly incarcerated advocates working in collaboration with law students and lawyers. It provides:

  • Weekly workshops that build their knowledge and capacity to cultivate legal literacy and to collaborate with lawyers
  • The opportunity to become a co-author of JLM in collaboration with law students
  • College credit from College Unbound
  • Mentorship from practicing lawyers
  • Policy opportunities developed in collaboration with the NYC Bar Association


LLAW will engage fellows in efforts to transform the law by reflecting the perspectives and insights of people directly affected in the development and communication of law and policy. Developing these capacities will also position the fellows to obtain positions calling for this kind of expertise, which many legal advocacy organizations, law schools, and government agencies are seeking.

The LLAW Fellowship aims to build the capacity of people affected by incarceration to 

  1. Advocate for themselves and others in and after prison
  2. Work effectively with lawyers, law students, and policymakers on increasing access to justice
  3. Enlist LLAW fellows in making legal resources more accessible to people in and after prison
  4. Build collective efficacy in using the law as part of a broader effort to improve the civic agency of communities affected by incarceration.

The current legal system is in need of fundamental change, and that cannot happen without the full participation of those directly affected by incarceration. These are people who understand both the importance of law and the ways legal institutions fail. Their leadership is key to energizing marginalized communities, rebuilding trust in legal institutions, and revitalizing our democracy.

During these turbulent times, increasing access to the basic right of due process is a crucial way to address and, even prevent, abuses of basic human rights which otherwise go unchecked. Upholding the rule of law is also something people can agree on, regardless of politics or persuasion.

The Center for Institutional and Social Change partners with 

  • The New York City Bar Association’s Office of Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging
  • The Jailhouse Lawyers Manual published by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review
  • College Unbound
  • ITHAKA

Stacy Burnett
Senior Product Manager,  
JSTOR Access in Prison, ITHAKA


Reggie Chapman 
Director of Policy, the Fortune Society


Dr. Robert Fullilove  
Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences 
and Co-director of the Cities Research Group
at the Mailman School of Public Health


Nicole Smith Futrell 
Professor of Law,  
Co-Director of the Defenders Clinic,  
CUNY Law School


Susan Sturm 
LLAW Co-Director  
Director, Center for Institutional and Social Change  
and George M Jaffin Professor of Law & Social Responsibility, 
Columbia Law School 


Tony Windley 
LLAW Co-Director  
and CEO, Brain-Body Sequences Consulting Services, 
and Director of Education & Training,  
Second Chance University