Washington Lawyer May/June 2026
By John Murph
I remember being a six-year-old girl: talkative, a little bossy, eager to learn, but struggling with reading comprehension and math skills. I wanted to read books like my older sister and my mom, but during read-aloud time at school, my palms would sweat and I would think about faking an asthma attack just to avoid being called on.
When parent–teacher conference time came around, my parents and teachers did something that changed everything — they included me in the conversation about my education. I sat in the room as my teachers discussed my strengths and challenges. They asked me questions like "Do you feel confident reading?" "Do you enjoy reading out loud?" "Do you want to improve your math skills?" They explained the importance of improving in reading and math, connecting the skills to the life goals I told them I had. That experience gave me ownership over my education and taught me that my voice mattered.
Research consistently demonstrates the connection between education and quality of life. Studies by the National Institutes of Health, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Lumina Foundation, and others show strong correlations between education and outcomes such as longer life expectancy, economic growth, job performance, self-confidence, and decision-making skills. There is also a well-documented relationship between education and reduced crime rates. From where I sit as an advocate and attorney, education is not just a tool for individual advancement — it is also a catalyst for systemic change. Education strengthens communities, promotes safety, and creates pathways for collective growth.
I know firsthand how education improved my life. Having adults empower me to learn and pursue opportunities was pivotal to my success. Looking back, it makes sense that I ended up working as an education attorney for a nonprofit that seeks to empower families and youth, particularly those with special needs, to ensure access to appropriate education and health services.
As an attorney with Advocates for Justice and Education (AJE), I see the power of that partnership every day. AJE implements a multi-strategy approach to support D.C. families, youth, and the community. The approach includes (1) one-on-one assistance to address immediate issues while identifying systemic problems, (2) training to educate families and youth about their rights and build their capacity to self-advocate, and (3) systemic advocacy in partnership with families through community education, policy work, legislation, and litigation. All of AJE's services are free to D.C. residents.
I have worked with AJE for two years, providing direct legal assistance to families. When I meet with clients, I assess not only the legal issue but also their capacity — emotional, mental, physical, and socioeconomic — to engage in the resolution process. As families describe the challenges their children face in school, I listen for how well they understand the issue, what steps they have already taken, and what resolution they are seeking.
In cases where a family has already made attempts to resolve the matter (which most do before seeking outside assistance), I look at how they attempted to resolve it. Was it by email or through face-to-face interactions? Who did the family speak to at the school: an employee whose job is specific to the matter, or a more general school employee like the office administrator?
When clients describe their goals for the case, I ask if they are seeking broadly for accountability and for "something to be done" or if they are requesting specific relief such as compensatory education, written findings, or increased Individualized Education Program or Section 504 supports for their student. Understanding this helps me design a plan that uses and works with their strengths rather than replacing them.
At AJE, we do not take over cases. Instead, we treat our relationships with clients as partnerships. Parents are encouraged to ask questions, make decisions, and whenever possible take the lead in advocating for their children. We provide email templates, know-your-rights documents, videos, and step-by-step guidance, but ideally parents complete the work themselves. When a client's capacity is limited, we step in to fill the gaps, while still explaining each step so the knowledge and skills they develop stay with the family. This gives them the ability and confidence to address future challenges.
Helping Rather Than Fixing
My first formal introduction to the client-empowerment model came during law school in a restorative justice class. Our first assigned reading was Stephen Wexler's "Practicing Law for Poor People." I remember feeling my understanding of what it meant to be a community lawyer begin to shift.
That article helped clarify how I wanted to practice law. Before law school, I knew I wanted to be an attorney who served marginalized communities and worked to effect systemic change, but I had not yet realized how many different approaches existed to achieve those goals. "Practicing Law for Poor People" illuminated the ways in which our legal system — and traditional models of lawyering — often decenter clients and their desires during the resolution process.
Through Wexler's work and my growing understanding of restorative justice, I came away from that class with an important realization: Solving a client's problem is not the same as helping them find resolution or justice. It was then that I knew I wanted to be the kind of attorney who focused on the latter.
Though I am fond of the client-empowerment model, I am aware of its critiques. Some argue that it places an unfair burden on clients to perform work that lawyers are trained to do, that guidance on how to implement the model can be vague, and that it risks minimizing, or even displacing, the role of lawyers altogether.
I believe client empowerment is not a soft ideal; it is a professional and ethical requirement for effective poverty law, movement law, and civil rights practice. Wexler captures this perfectly in his article: "The hallmark of an effective poor people's practice is that the lawyer does not do anything for his clients that they can do or be taught to do for themselves."
When I first read that quote in law school, it felt harsh. It conflicted with my idea of what a "good" lawyer does. Over time, and through my work at AJE, I learned that shielding clients from legal information or decision-making does more harm than good. Sharing knowledge equips clients to navigate systems long after our work together ends.
Empowerment in Action
My supervisor and director of legal services at AJE, Akela Crawford, emphasized early on that empowerment looks different for every client. The key is determining client capacity, which I define as their willingness and ability (emotional, physical, and socioeconomic) to engage in legal and administrative tasks. Capacity informs everything: the level of representation, the resources provided, the depth of legal explanation, and even the way follow-up communication is structured.
For example, I once assisted a parent with a 504 plan accommodation dispute. Before contacting AJE, she had already sent well-documented emails to school administrators, which demonstrated a solid understanding of Section 504 and showed that she had taken appropriate initial steps to resolve the issue. Rather than duplicating her efforts, I focused on strengthening her advocacy by providing relevant case law, explaining how to use it strategically, and discussing the grievance options available through both the D.C. Office of Human Rights and the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
I also took time to explain how federal political changes could affect her experience with the OCR grievance process, including potential delays in response time or the thoroughness of an investigation. By understanding the potential impact of multiple rounds of layoffs at OCR and the office's possible transition from the U.S. Department of Education to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the parent had more information when deciding how to proceed, easing some of the anxiety she felt about submitting a complaint. This was information she deserved to have when making a decision that would affect not only her child, but also her family and the school.
When it came time to complete and submit the grievance, the parent and I drafted the complaint together. By tailoring my approach to her capacity, the parent left with a clear understanding of her rights and options. She was empowered to advocate for her own child as well as support others in her community facing similar challenges.
Assigning the parent the task of drafting the grievance statement was intentional. By writing the most substantive and daunting portion of the form herself, she maintained full control over which issues she wanted the grievance offices to consider. She maintained her voice. She also left with the confidence — and the practical knowledge — that, if she ever needed to, she could submit a similar complaint on her own in the future.
Collective Approach to Justice
Empowerment is necessary to effect systemic change because impoverished clients face layered challenges that directly limit their ability to access justice and participate meaningfully in legal processes. Economic instability restricts time, resources, and access to information, often forcing individuals to make decisions based on immediate convenience rather than long-term strategic benefit. These individual constraints are compounded by systemic factors such as complex court procedures, burdensome administrative requirements, language barriers, and digital inequity. Together, these obstacles make it difficult for marginalized clients to understand their rights, navigate legal systems, and advocate for themselves, effectively excluding them from full participation in the justice process.
These challenges are further reinforced by barriers created within the legal profession itself. Legal norms that position lawyers as the sole experts can sideline clients' lived experiences and priorities, while lawyers' heavy caseloads and time pressures can limit opportunities for meaningful client engagement. Assumptions about what is in a client's "best interest" may replace genuine informed consent, diminishing the client's agency in decision-making and perpetuating power imbalances. Empowerment, through shared decision-making, accessible information, and respect for client autonomy, is therefore essential to individual justice outcomes as well as to broader systemic change.
When I think about empowerment, I often return to this African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Systemic change requires that collective approach. The client-empowerment model equips families with the knowledge, context, and confidence to identify rights violations earlier, which can help mitigate harm, and to share critical information within their communities, allowing that knowledge to multiply beyond any single case.
A song from my elementary school choir called "Knowledge Is Power" by Teresa Jennings comes to mind. Its chorus — "Knowledge is power, I know what I know. The more you learn, the farther you'll go. When you get an education you'll be taking a stand because knowledge is power. Grab it while you can." — still rings true for me today. Empowerment cannot exist without education, and education cannot happen when knowledge is withheld.
Client empowerment is central to competent and ethical lawyering for those living in poverty. It has the power to transform not only a client's immediate circumstances, but also their future outlook and the strength of their community.
I am grateful for the parents and teachers who empowered me to advocate for myself, face life's challenges head-on, and continuously grow and challenge my thinking. It was their empowerment that pushed me to pursue greater knowledge and education, ultimately leading me to become the attorney I am today. I am equally grateful for the opportunity to pass that gift along to every client I work with.
Joining Advocates for Justice and Education in 2024 as a staff attorney, Nadiya Pope provides legal assistance in special education, discipline, and other educational matters.
