CUNY Law’s Formerly Incarcerated Law Students Advocacy Association (FILSAA) is building a path from prison to the legal workplace, empowering people most affected by the prison system to change it. FILSAA helps recruit prospective students, provides academic and social support during law school, and advocates for easier transitions into the legal field.
2L FILSAA co-chair Colby Williams notes that the organization was founded three years ago by Jerry Koch, a formerly incarcerated 1L, who thought he was the only formerly incarcerated person at CUNY School of Law.
The founder of FILSAA was incarcerated for resisting a grand jury summons to testify, a choice many argue is morally preferable and which often does not constitute a crime. The idea of a social justice advocate who has succeeded through law school being prohibited from practicing the law on account of outdated ideas of character norms is a barrier FILSAA wants to help lift.
Colby himself is a formerly incarcerated student who didn’t think law school was a possibility until he began researching his options and came across both the founder of FILSAA and a CUNY Law alum who also experienced incarceration. They urged Colby to apply to CUNY Law.
“My applications were strong, but I was getting wait-listed and rejected. Admissions officers told me they were pulling for me with admissions committees but remarked that they didn’t typically accept people with convictions.”
Colby Williams in one of FILSAA’s new Youtube series talks about rejection
In many states, convictions serve as a barrier for people who want to get into law school, pass the bar, and practice law after graduation.
“People worry a great deal about the character and fitness portion of the bar exam. The effects of arrests and convictions are far-reaching, regardless of whether they were for civil disobedience, involvement in violent crimes, or even any type of mental health or substance abuse treatment.”
FILSAA wants to let formerly incarcerated people know that law school is a possibility.
“As I began applying, FILSAA offered to help edit my application essays and help with application fees and books. Once I moved to New York, they welcomed me and gave me a tour. I felt supported in so many ways.”
After Colby was accepted into CUNY Law, he wondered if he would face the same issues with internships and the job market as he did with admissions committees. He was pleasantly surprised by the amount of success he found in acquiring interviews and internships. Employers who interviewed him consistently expressed how they valued the lived experiences of people most impacted by the law and the systems they sought to change.
FILSAA’s video on why it’s important to create a path for formerly incarcerated people to go to law school
“They told me: ‘We can teach you how to be a lawyer, but bring your experience and vantage point.’ Folks who come from the communities most affected by injustice – especially systemic injustice – should be the people empowered to be in leadership over groups who are tasked with coming up with the solutions to those problems. In the public defender criminal defense world, who better to step into that world, be it by lawyering or through policy work, than folks who have experienced arrests and incarceration?”
The idea was to recruit people who were on board with this message and who were interested in criminal defense, abolitionism, and justice involvement. Many students who have never experienced incarceration flock to support the group.
“I find great purpose in using my own privilege to diminish arbitrary and oppressive gatekeeping,” said 2L FILSAA co-chair Sophie Whitin. “Working with FILSAA has allowed me to use my position as a law student to make space in the legal profession for the brilliant and motivated minds that I know exist behind bars.”
FILSAA also advocates for CUNY Law to accept more formerly incarcerated students. This involves keeping an open line of communication with the Admissions Office about all the efforts involved in smoothing the way for students who have experienced incarceration.
“There is a great deal of myth-busting that must take place before a formerly incarcerated person will even apply to law school,” said Colby. “Many still think they won’t be successful because, historically, this has been the case. There are certainly formerly incarcerated lawyers and one attorney who just won a race for State Representative. Examples like these help people realize the possibilities for their own lives. We encourage people to look further into the possibilities, once they realize there are practicing attorneys vocal about their pasts of incarceration.”
FILSAA’s has created a new Youtube library to help formerly incarcerated students succeed in law school
To facilitate this myth-busting at the heart of FILSAA’s work, Colby and FILSAA co-chair Tynia Coats, also a 2L at CUNY Law, produced a series of videos that answer a variety of questions that formerly incarcerated students may ask before they apply. The videos offer advice on applications, the benefits of varied life experiences in helping to change the system, and how to handle rejection. Gayla Jacobson, the Executive Director of Admissions at CUNY Law, participated in one of these videos to alleviate concerns and to provide information about applying with a criminal record.
Gayla Jacobs, Executive Director of Admissions for CUNY Law (left) and Colby Williams, 2L and co-Chair of FILSAA
Despite the fitting experience of a person who understands the system from the inside-out, there are barriers that extend beyond one’s incarceration alone, keeping people away from the practice of law.
Money is a huge barrier in several ways. In addition to being ineligible for Pell Grants if you have a criminal history, once you get out of prison, expenses like child support might have gone into arrears. If you don’t pay, it’s a brand new offense on your record. There’s a great deal of financial catch-up once you leave prison. While CUNY Law is still one of the most affordable law schools in the United States, formerly incarcerated students are less likely to receive scholarships from organizations unwilling to take chances on them. Even if you are eligible for loans, living on loans while in school, without a full-time job or access to grants or scholarships, is a huge barrier.
There are academic barriers, too. A student who comes out of a top undergraduate institution might know how to utilize office hours or the writing center. These seem like small complications, but, in general, folks who don’t grow up in an academic environment have the added barrier of being unaware of resources available to students. Small complications add up.
Spring 2020 Panel where formerly incarcerated activists came to campus to discuss their organizing work inside and outside of prisons with FILSAA
Some people grow up in cultures where asking for help is seen as weakness, so strategically it sometimes makes more sense for helpers to proactively offer help to formerly incarcerated students – what Colby lovingly calls “pestering” people.
“We offer constant pestering, academic and social support, and free textbooks in your 1L year.”
The bar itself is a barrier to entry for formerly incarcerated lawyers, especially since passing it the first time is fiscally ideal for someone in a public interest position, who often cannot begin earning money until they are licensed. Unlike firms, public interest jobs usually remain unpaid, while students study in anticipation of working post-exam. Likewise, even in the public interest world, students need summer internships to prepare for practice and to build out resumes. These, too, are often unpaid. You still have to pay rent, buy food, and keep the electricity on, while studying and working for free. FILSAA is addressing this barrier by attempting to raise money to fund unpaid summer public interest internships for formerly incarcerated students.
FILSAA co-chair Tynia Coats 2L identifies as an advocate for people who have experienced incarceration
There are currently three formerly incarcerated students who FILSAA knows about at CUNY Law and more than 70 advocates who are supporting the recruitment and growth of these students. This community of lawyers-to-be hopes to keep growing and supporting more and more formerly incarcerated students every year.
This is an exciting time for FILSAA. They recently launched their fundraising program, where they hope to raise $18,000 in the next year to directly benefit formerly incarcerated students. These funds will provide opportunities to accept unpaid public interest summer internships, bar study support after graduation, and character and fitness preparation, which can cost students upwards of $1,000 if they need to provide additional evaluations to the character and fitness committee.
In addition to donating, you can connect with FILSAA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and donate to their fundraising efforts here. Check out co-chair Colby Williams’ quote here in this piece by labor activist Kim Kelly, and stay tuned to the CUNY Law events calendar for FILSAA’s joint letter-writing project with the National Lawyers Guild.