LAWS 3345 Movement Lawyering

This is a course about the complex relationship between lawyers, social movements, and social and legal change. We are living through a moment of instability and possibility where legal norms are eroding and transforming all around us. As lawyers (or at least soon-to-be lawyers) we are faced with the question of what roles we should or can play either in upholding, challenging, or remaking the systems that we operate within. This course offers an opportunity to reflect on this question by thinking deeply and critically about how and whether lawyers can play a role in social movements. While we will be reading and studying together as a class, we'll also be interacting with (and reading alongside) law students and lawyers from around the country. Students in the course will have the chance to learn from and question practicing lawyers. In addition to the traditional modes of engagement (reading and writing), students will have the chance to lead class meetings, do individualized field research in their areas of interest, and engage with law students from around the country.

Course overview

Department
Law
School
LAW
Credits
2
Level
Graduate
Offered
Every Spring

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.63 / 5 · Excellent
33 responses
Instructor rating
4.72 / 5 · Excellent
33 responses
Terms evaluated
2
Most recent: Spring 2024

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Spring 2024Daniel Farbman4.74.84.74.44.74.84.84.94–6 hrs/week20 of 20
Spring 2022Daniel Farbman4.54.64.54.54.54.44.84.81–3 hrs/week13 of 17

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors