2026 Poverty Law Conference

"Scholarship, Pedagogy, and Community in a Time of Attacks on the Vulnerable"

February 20-21, 2026

Los Angeles, CA

This year's conference will take place in Los Angeles on February 20–21, 2026, with a welcome reception on the evening of Thursday, February 19. This national event brings together scholars, educators, and advocates whose work focuses on poverty, inequality, and access to justice. Like previous gatherings, the event will feature paper presentations, roundtable discussions about teaching and advocacy, and opportunities to build community across disciplines and institutions.
 

Call for Proposals

We welcome paper abstract and panel submissions in the following areas:

• Critical Issues in Poverty and Inequality: Covering any topic relevant to poverty, including but not limited to housing, healthcare, public benefits, criminal justice, labor and employment, education, fiscal policy, and racial and economic justice.
• Innovations in Teaching Poverty Law: Sharing pedagogical strategies, classroom experiences, and curricular ideas for teaching poverty law and related subjects.
• Community Strategies for Protecting and Empowering the Vulnerable: Exploring the role of the poverty law community in resisting the dismantling of safety net programs and defending procedural rights, through integrative approaches that connect teaching, research, and practice.

Submission Form

Please use our form to submit your proposals by the deadline: August 1, 2025. You may also indicate if you would like to be a commenter, present your own close-to-final work, or present a work-in-progress:

https://gould.law/poverty-law-submissions

Conference Registration

Please note that there is a $100 conference registration fee. Presenters are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses. We will provide a list of nearby hotels. Registration will be available on this web page; please check back soon!

Questions?

For questions, please contact Clare Pastore (cpastore@law.usc.edu) or Ariel Jurow Kleiman (ajurowkleiman@law.usc.edu).

We look forward to welcoming you to Los Angeles in February 2026!