Thursday, April 26 - Friday, April 27, 2018
Vanderbilt Hall, NYU School of Law
More than 4 billion people are understood to be living outside the protection of the law. Adding to this unjust and ongoing status quo are profound levels of income inequality and rising authoritarianism across the globe. The result is an urgent need to reimagine legal systems that work for everyone.
Legal empowerment, a growing field of human rights practice, scholarship, and education, strives to reverse this tide of injustice and strengthen the capacity of marginalized individuals to use the law to find solutions to their justice problems. It is a deeper version of democracy, giving voice to those who have been historically powerless.
The Robert L. Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at NYU School of Law is committed to the advancement of legal empowerment through innovative research, education, and advocacy. Our 2018 conference, Reimagining Justice: Realizing Human Rights through Legal Empowerment, leverages the interdisciplinary strengths of the Robert L. Bernstein Institute for Human Rights and draws together leading activists, lawyers, and academics from around the world to assess the state of the legal empowerment field, identify key research and methodological opportunities, and build a stronger global movement for grassroots justice