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1 L. A. Pub. Int. L.J. 4 (2008-2009)
Essay - Law and Organizing from the Perspective of Organizers: Finding a Shared Theory of Social Change

handle is hein.journals/lapubinl1 and id is 8 raw text is: SYMPOSIUM
Immigrants' Rights: From Global To Local
September 12, 2008, Loyola Law School
ESSAY-LAW AND ORGANIZING FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF ORGANIZERS: FINDING A
SHARED THEORY OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Betty Hung*
I.  IN TRO D U CTION   ..........................................................................................  5
II. LAW AND ORGANIZING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF
O R G A N IZE R S  ...................................................................................................  7
A. WHY ADD LAW TO ORGANIZING. ....................................................... 8
B. THE CHALLENGES OF ADDING LAW TO ORGANIZING ........................ 12
1. Operational Challenges: Privileging the LAW in LA Wand Organizing
.......................                           .......................13
2. Interpersonal Challenges: Unequal Partners ....................................... 15
3. The Role of Race and Other Intersectional Axes of Identity ................ 18
III. THE PHILOSOPHICAL DIMENSIONS OF LAW AND ORGANIZING:
FINDING A SHARED THEORY OF SOCIAL CHANGE .............................. 19
* Special Counsel at Inner City Law Center (ICLC) and Senior Attorney at the Legal Aid
Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA).** I would like to thank the many community and legal
organizers who have shared their insights with me over the years, including Lilia Garcia, Hamid
Khan, An Le, Paul Lee, Nelson Motto, Victor Narro, Vy Nguyen, and Sentayehu Silassie; Gary
Blasi, Hamid Khan, Vy Nguyen, and Julie Su for their comments on this essay; Emily Wood for
research assistance; and the editors of the Los Angeles Public Interest Law Journal for their
editing and suggestions. (**For identification purposes only).
© 2009. Betty Hung. The copyright in each article is owned by the respective author.
Except as otherwise provided, the author of each article grants permission for copies of that
article to be made for classroom use, provided that each copy is distributed at or below cost, the
author and the Los Angeles Public Interest Law Journal are identified on each copy, proper notice
of copyright is affixed to each copy, and the author and the Journal are notified of the use.

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