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 to navigate the name change process and supports litigation and policy efforts to improve outcomes and opportunities for TGNC communities across the country.
How we do it:
For name-change projects, we currently work with Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP). 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.
Research projects are project-based and come from impact litigation and policy organizations working to improve the lives of TGNC people, and we expect them to vary widely in both size and the nature of the work. Students are invited to volunteer for research projects as they become available throughout the academic year.
How and when can I join:
Because the name-change work requires specific training, we recruit student volunteers for that part of the 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.