Area residents and Drexel Kline students are gathering at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships for Community Law School, a new series that invites people to look at the law through a wider lens. Rather than stopping at what the law says, the program explores how legal systems take shape, why rules operate as they do and what tools exist for the communities most affected by them.

Led by Stephanie Dorenbosch, assistant director of the Andy and Gwen Stern Community Lawyering Clinic (SCLC), the initiative grew out of a gap that clinic faculty and student advocates repeatedly saw in community legal education. Traditional workshops often leave out the background that helps people understand why their experiences with legal systems feel the way they do.

“People already know when something is unfair,” Dorenbosch said. “Our role isn’t to tell them that. It’s to explain what’s happening behind the scenes and help make sense of their experiences.”

Community Law School launched this fall, evolving in part from the SCLC’s earlier workshops, including the spring session “How to Keep the Government’s Hands Off Your Home!” Developed by SCLC students, the event drew significant community interest. It also made clear how much residents wanted insight not only into the legal mechanics of homeownership but also into the broader forces that fuel housing instability in Philadelphia.

After Community Law School kicked off with an immigration session, the homeownership topic returned in October as a redesigned workshop led by law student Rob Kaplowitz, JD ’26, who built on the spring session and on questions he regularly hears from neighbors.

Kaplowitz’s session resonated because it reflected how neighbors already talk about property loss, estate planning and the pressures on families who have lived in their neighborhoods for generations. He structured the presentation around real questions raised in his own community, ranging from concerns about wills and trusts to fears of title theft and deed fraud.

“It’s critical to offer context, not just information,” Kaplowitz said. “Information alone can feel like instruction, while context helps people understand that the challenges they’ve faced around homeownership aren’t personal failures but systemic obstacles. Our shared history as a community is often the place to begin talking about issues that affect us all.” He said that watching the original housing workshop last spring helped shape his approach by showing the kinds of questions and concerns that resonate most with residents.

For many attendees, the central concern wasn’t only how tangled titles or deed fraud work but why these patterns recur in the same neighborhoods. Those conversations made clear that a recurring series could give people room to examine both the legal mechanics of these issues and the long history contributing to housing instability in Philadelphia.

Monthly sessions also help build trust. “If you want people to participate, it has to be regular and something they can count on,” Dorenbosch said. One-off workshops can be helpful, but they rarely provide the continuity needed for deeper conversations.

How the Series Works

This fall’s sessions looked at immigration, homeownership and property loss, as well as a behind-the-scenes view of family court. In December, the program will feature a film screening connected to the Scandinavian Prison Project and its evaluation of Little Scandinavia at SCI Chester. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections established the housing unit to pilot a more humane model of incarceration.

The structure of the sessions stays consistent: Begin with a shared framework, move through the mechanics of the issue, and then offer practical steps or resources. The aim is clarity without overloading.

“It’s not helpful to give people a list of rules without context,” Dorenbosch said. “The framework is what makes the details meaningful, and it’s what helps the sessions feel relevant.”

Students at the Center of the Workshops

Sessions often become lively as people respond to what they hear, ask questions or connect the information to what they and their neighbors have experienced. Students design their presentations to invite that dialogue, whether they’re walking through homeownership concerns, as Kaplowitz did, or unpacking family court. In the November session on family court, law student Deaven Ross, JD ’26, opened by asking participants what “being a parent” means to them, and then contrasted their answers with the definition used in family court.

Ross said the discussion showed how people view family court differently after hearing how the law defines key terms. Participants described parenting as care, time and the bonds they build with their children—and reacted audibly when Ross explained that anyone who has contributed genetic material to a child is generally considered a parent with custody rights under Pennsylvania law. Several participants remarked that understanding this helped them make better sense of their own experiences in family court. “People come in expecting the system to reflect what they’ve lived,” Ross said. “Once they understand the structure of custody and support decisions, they’re more willing to ask questions and trust themselves in a process that can feel intimidating.”

Students play a central role in shaping each workshop. They research issues, draft materials and work with Dorenbosch to refine content. For many, it’s a shift away from the habits of “lawyer brain” toward clear communication rooted in lived experience.

The Community Law School audience is open to all community members and students, not only those enrolled in the SCLC. In the spring, current clinic students will propose and co-develop new sessions with community partners, ensuring that future topics evolve from the conversations and concerns raised by residents. Interest is growing. Some participants attend after calling the SCLC with questions that match upcoming sessions. Others hear about it through partner organizations or the Dornsife Center. After the homeownership workshop, several attendees asked whether the presentation could be brought to their churches, recreation centers or neighborhood associations. Planning for mobile versions is underway for the spring.

“We want Community Law School to be shaped by what residents are actually asking,” Dorenbosch said. “As we move into the spring, the goal is for students and community partners to develop sessions together based on the concerns they’re hearing every day.”