Land Clinic is a nonprofit* creative legal project that surfaces the legal geographies of placemaking.
the shape the work takes
We recompose property, contract, estate planning and real estate law practices to focus on the systems, tools and processes that are supportive of connecting people to the ecologies and histories of place.
Reparative Mapmaking and Land-Based Transactions
We collaborate with lineal descendants to map ancestral and culturally significant homelands, providing the legal context by examining relevant legislation, land surveys, deeds, and other conveyance instruments. Beyond acknowledgment, our aim is to catalyze acts of repair, specifically advocating for and facilitating land returns. Our work is to empower our clients with this information, providing them the agency to choose how they use and share their stories.
Nourishing Food and Ecological Systems
We work with those on the frontlines of restoring our relationship to seed and food. The clinic recognizes the importance of seed rematriation, prioritizing culturally-relevant foods and practices, incorporating regenerative food systems, reclaiming agroecological approaches and other place-based wisdoms lost to conventional agriculture and conservation practices.
Legal Design and Culture Creation
We are in dire need of a new legal aesthetic. Legal design is a burgeoning field at the intersection of law and visual communication, aimed at enhancing the accessibility of legal systems. We employ the principles of legal design in our client deliverables as well as in our educational materials.
Our Legal Apprenticeship Program
lawyers without law school
Our legal apprenticeship program allows community members to sit for the California bar without attending law school. They bring their projects on as client work and use the projects as the basis for their legal education.
We launched our first cohort of apprentices in fall of 2023 with the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy, a Tongva-led org created to steward lands in Tovaangar (LA basin). Find out more about our apprentices here.
crafting novel legal thought
We curate conversations that kiss, compliment and challenge legal notions of property.
