Community and Transactional Lawyering Clinic
The Community and Transactional Lawyering Clinic, first established as the Community Law Clinic in 1996, provides corporate and transactional legal services to New Jersey nonprofit corporations (specifically those corporations that provide services geared to the needs of lower-income people in the City of Newark and nearby urban areas), start-up for-profit businesses and microenterprises, charter schools, and individuals such as artists and inventors.
The clinic is principally a non-litigation clinic, although it handles a limited number of matters which may involve some litigation such as adult guardianship matters and some oversight and assistance of the small legal staff of one of its largest non-profit, corporate clients, Covenant House of New Jersey. Students may perform some work on intellectual property matters related to their transactional clients. Finally, the Clinic strives to advance justice and community empowerment by representing resident groups and community development corporations (CDCs) regarding urban redevelopment and planning.
To reach the Community and Transactional Lawyering Clinic, call 973-353-5059 or email us at rutgerslawctlc@law.rutgers.edu
Leadership
Charles I. Auffant oversees the Community and Transactional Lawyering Clinic and joined Rutgers as a clinical attorney in the Urban League Clinic. He’s worked for numerous organizations, including the Urban League of Essex County, Essex-Newark Legal Services, Newark Board of Education, the University of Medicine and Dentistry and the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the City of Newark. Professor Auffant received his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark in 1982. He joined Rutgers in 1998 as a Clinical Faculty Professor in the Urban Legal Clinic. Professor Auffant, a Newark resident, is deeply committed to and active in the Newark Community.
Tomica Burke Saul co-directs the Community and Transactional Lawyering Clinic, which provides legal services in a range of transactional, regulatory, and governance matters to start up companies, small businesses, sole proprietors, and community organizations based in northern New Jersey. Prior to this role, Professor Saul was the staff attorney for the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic at Columbia Law School. Prof. Saul began her legal career at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions/joint ventures group, and subsequently worked on the communications team for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.