ASSISTANT PROFESSORS
OF CLINICAL LAW Prianka
Nair and Sarah Lorr joined
the Disability and Civil
Rights Clinic this year as
director and deputy director,
respectively. As one of the
few law school clinics in the
country specializing in this
area, it focuses on protecting
and advancing the civil rights
of adults with intellectual
disabilities.
“We do important work
to address the legal needs of
persons with disabilities,
and we provide students
with critical advocacy skills
and practical experience,”
said Nair.
Nair previously worked as
a public interest attorney at
Disability Rights New York,
which advocates for the civil and legal rights of
New Yorkers with disabilities.
The clinic functions as a pro bono law firm,
with students representing low-income New
Yorkers and their families in a variety of civil
legal matters, including housing, public benefits,
access to healthcare, special education, parental
rights, alternatives to guardianship, asylum, and
discrimination concerning access to programs
and services.
The clinic currently represents a pregnant
woman with a mild intellectual disability. Her
mother, who is her guardian, will likely seek
custody of the infant, so the students are seeking
to terminate the mother’s guardianship and allow
the client to live as an independent adult. Students
also are working on an amicus brief in the D.C.
Circuit Court to find support for incarcerated
adults with intellectual disabilities.
“Representing parents with disabilities is one
of my passions and a driving force for me as a
lawyer,” said Lorr.
Lorr was a supervising attorney at Brooklyn
Defender Services–Family Defense Practice,
which provides free representation to parents at
risk of losing their children to foster care.
“We welcome our two newest clinicians
under whose stewardship the clinic will expand
enrollment and the types of matters handled,
carrying out the vision of our partner and donor,
the Taft Foundation,” said Professor Stacy
Caplow, associate dean of experiential education.
The Taft Foundation is led by Howard Rothman
’71, partner at Kramer Levin, who serves as its
president and chairman of the board of directors.