Learning Lab

Movement Lawyering Training Intensive

This session is an intensive training designed specifically for Black public defenders—from seasoned advocates to those just entering the field—who are interested in applying movement lawyering practices to their work or deepening their current practice. Traditional legal education teaches us to work within the system—but as Black public defenders, we know the system was never built for us or our communities. Movement lawyering offers an alternative framework. In this training, we will introduce the principles and practice of movement lawyering, its historical roots, and how it differs from traditional legal practice. Participants will engage with scenarios, critical discussions, reflect on our roles as lawyers, and examine ethical considerations. This is an opportunity to step back, assess this political moment, and ask: What skills do I need to build or deepen right now? How can movement lawyering help me navigate my role in this time? This session is geared toward deepening our understanding, expanding our strategies, and building connections that sustain us.

Christian Snow

Executive Director

Law For Black Lives

Christian Snow is a long-time resident of Chicago's west side. Snow obtained her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. Snow most recently worked at the Illinois Justice Project (“ILJP”) as a program director. There, Snow focused on organizing policy advocates, state leaders, community-based organizations and grassroots organizers to develop and implement a shared state-wide policy agenda and strategic plan to end criminalization and incarceration and to support safe and thriving communities. Prior to ILJP, Snow worked as an Associate Attorney at the People’s Law Office. Snow's work there focused on assisting with civil rights cases involving police brutality and misconduct. Additionally, Snow was first an adult member, and then the Executive Director of Assata's Daughters, a Chicago grassroots abolitionist organization.

Nikkita Oliver

Research, Education, and Training Director

Law for Black Lives

Nikkita Oliver, Esq., M. Ed. (they/them) is currently the Research, Education, and Training (RET) Director at Law for Black Lives, where they lead the RET Department in developing rigorous and innovative research and curriculum for the L4BL and their partners. 

They joined the faculty of Seattle University Law School as an adjunct professor in 2021, teaching a course on the historical and legal underpinnings of abolition and restorative justice. In the spring of 2025, they joined the Seattle University Law School Faculty as a visiting professor to launch the law school's new "Transforming Public Safety" Clinic.

They are also the former executive director and co-founder of Creative Justice, an arts-based healing engaged space for youth and young adults impacted by the school-to-prison pipeline and other carceral institutions. They currently serve as a steering committee member with House Our Neighbors. They are formerly a movement lawyer with the Lavender Rights Project and a Lawyer-in-Residence with the Movement Law Lab.

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