Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law is launching an LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic in the Bluhm Legal Clinic, the University announced Wednesday. The clinic is designed to advance litigation and advocacy work to promote LGBTQI+ rights.
Pritzker Prof. Kara Ingelhart will be the inaugural director of the new clinic. She will be tasked with shaping the sustainability of the clinic and leading case and project management, the news release said.
“With more people identifying as a member of the LGBTQI+ community than ever before and the intense public attention on our rights, now is the right time to present Northwestern Pritzker Law students with opportunities to engage in legal advocacy on behalf of LGBTQI+ community members,” Ingelhart said in the news release.
The clinic’s establishment follows the 487 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in the U.S. during the 2024 legislative session, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Before she arrived at NU, Ingelhart served as the senior attorney in the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal, an organization advocating the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV. She was also the lead counsel in several lawsuits to advance LGBTQI+ rights under federal civil rights law.
Ingelhart said she also aims to focus the clinic around themes such as diversity, equity, inclusion and community belonging for its clients.
“I am thrilled for the chance to engage with students who are looking for opportunities to serve historically marginalized communities, develop an understanding of the strategies that have shaped our nation’s LGBTQI+ rights movement history, and immerse themselves in the interdisciplinary nature of the law,” she said in the news release.
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