Legal Aid Society Supervising Attorney Kawan Clinton ’00 Advocates for People Incarcerated During the Pandemic

Growing up in the South Bronx, New York, alumna Kawan Clinton ’00 was always interested in the law and law enforcement. In high school she took criminal law, civil law, and constitutional law classes, “and that pretty much solidified it for me. I wanted to become an attorney,” says Clinton. She was initially going to go away to school in Virginia, but after having a child, she felt more secure being closer to home. “It was difficult being a student and a parent, but John Jay had a day care and all of my teachers were really understanding. Once when my daughter wasn’t feeling well, my professor said, ‘Bring her to class,’” Clinton recalls. Even as she juggled a job and parenthood, Clinton made a point of taking challenging classes. She worked with her advisors and ended up acing the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Clinton enrolled in Pace Law School because of their evening program, and she continued to work full time while earning her law degree.

Now, as the Supervising Attorney at the Legal Aid Society, Clinton looks back on her journey at John Jay with pride. “I work with people that went to Harvard, Princeton, and these exotic undergraduate schools, but after going to John Jay, I got a great LSAT score. The school truly prepares you,” she says. We sat down with Clinton to learn more about her journey, her career, her accomplishments, and her advice for students hoping to follow in her footsteps.

Can you tell us about your work at the Legal Aid Society?
I have been in my position for almost six years. I have a staff of 20 to 25 attorneys that I am responsible for, and about six paralegals. I’m also in charge of a dozen investigators and other support staff. I work for the Criminal Defense Division. Our organization is the provider of defense for New York City. So when you get arrested, by law, you are entitled to an attorney and if you can’t afford one, then one is assigned to you, and the Legal Aid Society is usually the primary defendant at the time. A lot of my responsibilities are just running my complex and making sure that everything is running smoothly with my attorneys. I second seat in a lot of trials. I also carry my own caseload because I like to make sure that I stay abreast of everything and continue to be an effective trial attorney.

What has it been like doing your job during the pandemic?
A lot has changed since the pandemic and we have been working from home. There are very few in-court appearances. Also, many people have been staying needlessly in Rikers Island. A lot of what I have been working on in my organization has been working to get people out of jail who don’t belong there. My job is really advocating with the Mayor’s Office to get people on Rikers Island—who may have had short sentences and non-violent offenses with very little time left on their sentences—out of Rikers Island because it’s a Covid hotspot. That is something I am really proud of. I’ve had at least two clients, my own clients, released early from Rikers Island. Now they’re not just sitting around in jail for no reason with the opportunity to have Covid more likely to affect them. That’s definitely a positive.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your career?
When I first started in 2005, being young, Black, and female, I can’t tell you how many times I came into court with a full suit on, and I was still asked to show my ID. I was asked, “How can I help you?” I was still questioned as to why I was sitting in the front row in the courtroom. Race plays a role in that. That’s the truth, but you can’t get discouraged. You push back and fight back when necessary. And once you’ve made it, always make sure that you bring up others behind you. I am a big proponent of that.

Why did you choose this type of work within the legal field?
I make a decent amount of money, but I don’t make the same money that my two close friends who graduated from law school with me make. One of them works for IBM and the other works for Google. They graduated and were making the money that I’m making now at their first jobs. I have been working for over 15 years and that’s how long it took me to get to this place financially, but what was important to me is that I love my job. They like their jobs, but they are working over 80 hours a week. I love my job. I love what I do every single day. I like the contact that I have. I like that when I talk to my clients, they know I understand where they’re coming from. They can’t come at me and tell me I don’t understand their situation. My mom died when I was eight. I was raised by my father. I know what it’s like to have no lights and experience food insecurity. My kids don’t know it, but I know it. To me, this career path was the right thing because I could connect to my clients on that level. I think it is important to have people who you see yourself in. This is what I was called to do. I don’t want to take something that pays well but is not my calling.

What advice would you give John Jay students or other alumni hoping to follow in your footsteps?
Find a mentor. I didn’t have a mentor growing up. I didn’t even know any attorneys, certainly not anyone who looked like me. I can’t even say that I knew a cousin or distant relative who was a lawyer. I had no contact with anyone in this field. So now, what I try to do is bridge that gap, especially within my organization. Any John Jay student hoping to become a lawyer should seek out alumni who are already in the field. Use LinkedIn. Even though you might be a student, you can still make a page and send them a message. Say, “I see that you are an attorney and you work for this organization, I’m attending John Jay and I am looking for a mentor.” That’s what I wish I did back then. Also, they should know, being a lawyer is nothing like it is on television, but it is worthwhile—especially if you’re working in a field that you love.