Trans Empowerment & Advocacy Project (TEA)

What we do:

The Transgender Empowerment and Advocacy Project (TEA) helps low-income transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people in the greater Philadelphia area navigate the legal name change process and supports national litigation and policy efforts to improve equity and opportunities for TGNC communities across the country. TEA also fosters social events and for Penn Carey Law’s TGNC community.

How we do it:

Students work with an attorney at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP) on name change projects. In pairs of two, volunteers work with their client and supervising attorney over a several month period to write and submit name-change petitions and perform judgment searches.

Students also work on research projects throughout the academic year with various impact litigation and policy organizations working to improve the lives of TGNC people. Research projects generally vary widely in both size and nature of work. TEA will email students on our Listserv asking for volunteers as projects become available.

How and when can I join:

Because the name-change work requires specific training, we recruit student volunteers for that project once per year in the fall. Research tends to be more fluid and requires less specific training. If you are interested in joining TEA for name-change or research-based projects, please complete ​​this form or send us an email at pennlawtea@gmail.com.

What skills will I develop:

Name-Change Assignments: Client counseling, interviewing, judgment searches, and drafting court petitions.

Research Assignments: Legal analysis, research and writing, and policy advocacy.

The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.