OUR WORK
The CVI Legal Clinic
Where law students build the legal future of community safety.
The Community Violence Legal Network (CVLN) has launched the CVI Legal Clinic, the nation’s first legal education and advocacy initiative dedicated to supporting community-based violence intervention (CVI) organizations, survivors, and frontline practitioners. The Clinic has already partnered with law schools across the country in 2025 including hosting events and clinics at Northwestern Law School, Yale Law School, University of Baltimore, and Rutgers Law!
The CVI Legal Clinic is co-chaired by Ambar Caldwell and Benard McKinley, two law students leading a national effort to connect legal education with community violence intervention.
Why the CVI Legal Clinic Exists
The CVI Legal Clinic was created in response to what we heard from the field and from students — that community-based violence intervention organizations face complex legal challenges with limited access to representation or advocacy.
The Clinic bridges that gap by connecting law students, faculty, and community partners to advance justice, prevent violence, and build sustainable legal support for the CVI field.
Our Work Focuses On:
Legal education and research on violence prevention
Direct legal and policy support for CVI organizations and survivors
Federal and state funding compliance (DOJ, OJP, state-level programs)
Hands-on student training, externships, and community partnerships
Building a pipeline for Black and Brown law students in public safety law
Student-Led Leadership
The CVI Legal Clinic is co-chaired by two law students dedicated to transforming legal education and practice through community engagement.
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Hi everyone, my name is Ambar Caldwell, and I’m a first-year law student at The University of Texas School of Law. I am planning to pursue a career in public interest law, and I am especially passionate about the work being done around community violence intervention and criminal justice reform. Before law school, I worked as a law clerk with CVLN, where I helped support the federal class action lawsuit challenging the DOJ’s decision to cut CVI-related grant funding. That experience really deepened my commitment to this work, and I’m so excited to be part of the CVI Legal Clinic; helping build a stronger pipeline for Black and Brown law students and creating space for collaboration between legal advocates and community leaders nationwide.
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Hi everyone, my name is Benard Mckinley, and I'm a second-year law student at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. My goals after law school is to pursue a legal career as a civil rights attorney and help communities most adversely affected by societal ills. During my first-year of Law school I had the opportunity to work for CVLN as a law clerk. In that, I had first hand experience in learning how important community violence intervention programs are and how best I could help in applying my legal skills. Since then, at the beginning of my second-year of law school I had the honor to present with CVLN at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law "Day of Service" where law school students where educated on the importance of gun violence prevention. In helping with this work, I look forward to working with the CVLN network in exercising the passion of making a positive change and better tomorrow.
Connecting law students nationwide.
CVLN is working with law student associations and affinity groups across the country to bring the CVI Legal Clinic into classrooms, clinics, and student chapters.
The Clinic will host workshops, trainings, and peer-to-peer learning spaces for students who want to use their legal education to strengthen public safety and community healing.