Negotiating Change: How One Program is Transforming Legal Employment
By Natalie Gilbert, Negotiation Works Intern and Class 0f 2024, Georgetown University, and Dian Yu, Negotiation Works Intern and Class of 2027, Harvard University
Negotiation Works recently expanded its programming by partnering with the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program, a rigorous 24-week program for returning citizens to earn a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Georgetown and prepare for successful careers in law. For many students, Negotiation Works’ classes have been an integral part of the program. Paralegal Program Fellow Andre Pendleton notes, “The Negotiation Works component of the Paralegal Program was perfectly structured and executed.”
Because many returning citizens have spent hours researching in law libraries and learning case law while incarcerated, they have extensive legal experience. However, because of the stigma and barriers associated with incarceration, returning citizens often struggle to access the appropriate resources and job opportunities following their release. Accordingly, the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) established the Paralegal Program to build upon those experiences and help Fellows develop new careers. Maya Hambrick, the Program Manager for the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program, explains, “The Prisons and Justice Initiative is dedicated to fighting mass incarceration and the implications that come with it.”
The Prison and Justice Initiative seeks to achieve these goals by destigmatizing incarcerated individuals through education and awareness, as well as helping them thrive as individuals when they return home. Bryan Ferguson, who was wrongfully convicted, created the Paralegal Program after his release because he wanted to work on the barriers for reentering society. Maya explains, “The program is incredibly rigorous. Fellows must complete 40 hours of instruction per week in legal classwork, including family law, torts, legal citations, and more.” Andre explains, “Great responsibility is put on the candidates. There’s lots of individual learning, and it is a very rigorous and busy course schedule.”
One essential element of the curriculum involves the Negotiation Works classes. Negotiation Works’ partnership with the Georgetown Prison and Justice Initiative goes back to 2020 when they began teaching an intensive, twice-weekly negotiations course for the Georgetown Pivot Fellows. In 2022, Negotiation Works reached out to the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program to explore the possibility of bringing its program to the Paralegal Fellows as well.
Knowing that the negotiation courses had been quite successful in the Pivot Program, the Paralegal Program found a spot for the negotiation classes for its 2022 cohort. Given the packed teaching schedule in the Paralegal Program, however, the only spots where they could fit in the Negotiation Works classes were two four-hour sessions in one week at the tail end of their program. The Paralegal Fellows enjoyed the sessions quite a bit, but everyone agreed that spreading them out over a longer period could be even more beneficial. So when Negotiation Works returned to teach the 2023 cohort of Paralegal Fellows, the two organizations worked hard to create a schedule more beneficial to all. This time, Negotiation Works taught four classes during the Paralegal Fellows’ first two weeks of the program and followed up five months later with a short “refresher course” at the end of the program.
Each Negotiation Works class is tailored toward a specific element of negotiation and self-advocacy, using real-life examples and role plays. Negotiation Works–in collaboration with the Paralegal Program staff–created focused examples and scenarios specifically in the paralegal context, aiming to help the students prepare for their careers after completion of the program. The refresher course was designed for the Paralegal Fellows and focused on strategies the Fellows could use for working through job-related challenges, particularly given their status as returning citizens.
Negotiation Works’s partnership with the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program has been extremely impactful and memorable for all those involved. Maya explains, “Negotiation Works’ workshops help Fellows increase and gain confidence and improve strategies for effective communication in the workforce and real world.”
According to Susan Borke, a Negotiation Works instructor for the program, the workshops “help students pause before responding rather than react, and these are strategies they can use beyond the legal profession. The tools from Negotiation Works will mitigate the stress from their lives both in and out of their profession.” One of the main goals of these programs is to offer tools applicable far beyond the classroom. Khiran Sidhu, another instructor for this program, emphasized, “We want to create an environment that fosters the care and thoughtfulness students bring into the classroom, so we hope there’s positive reinforcement beyond what they achieve in their profession.”
When discussing the class structure, Andre especially appreciated the lesson about perspective-taking which he described as “a lightbulb moment that showed someone else can see something totally different than what you see.” He continued, “Just because someone has a different viewpoint doesn’t mean they are wrong or I am wrong.”
Beyond learning the importance of perspective-taking, Fellow Chemonz Olds notes that a crucial skill he learned from Negotiation Works was to, “be patient and listen to the other side.” He continues explaining,“I learned that I could be in a conversation but that it’s not a true active conversation if there is no active listening.” Chemonz explains that he now frequently asks himself if he is truly listening to others, particularly in his relationship with his children. Ultimately, Chemonz states that, “the Negotiation Works programming in partnership with the Paralegal Program is divine. It has taken my confidence through the roof. I feel like I could do anything I want to do and make a way for myself and my family.”
Another critical aspect of this program extends beyond the classroom into the career sector. Maya explains, “At the end of the academic session, there’s a 2-week boot camp on job readiness. We then facilitate the interview process by bringing in local law firms, legal organizations, and government agencies.” Negotiation Works’ classes help empower each Fellow to enter this process with confidence and self-assurance.
Maya, along with Fellows Andre and Chemonz, were enthusiastic about continuing and expanding the partnership between Negotiation Works and the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program. Not only does this partnership provide Fellows with extremely useful tools to more effectively communicate and navigate their careers and everyday life, but it also importantly works to destigmatize returning citizens entering the workforce. By empowering them to resolve conflict and advocate for themselves, Negotiation Works continues to make strides in amplifying the voices of those continually marginalized.
In September 2023, 12 Fellows—including Andre and Chemonz—graduated from the 2023 Paralegal Program Program. In its next cohort, the MORCA-Paralegal program plans to further grow and increase accessibility. With hopes to expand outside of D.C. into the broader DMV area, this program could quickly become available to an even larger number of returning citizens who would greatly benefit. As organizations continue to advocate for increased reentry support and opportunities, programs such as this one highlight the immense contributions and success returning citizens make when offered the proper resources. Undeniably, Negotiation Works’ classes complement the broader mission of the Paralegal Program in achieving these goals by helping give the Fellowsadvocacy skills and tools to assist in their reentry and efforts to find housing, employment, and other long-term opportunities.