One Saturday each spring semester for nearly three decades, San Antonians have filled the rooms of the St. Mary’s University School of Law’s classrooms building for People’s Law School. This May 1, as the legal community commemorates Law Day, that formula will be reversed. Rather than inviting the community to come to the classroom amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the law classroom will come to the community — via Zoom during San Antonio’s first virtual People’s Law School.

From tenants’ rights to immigration law, this joint project of the St. Mary’s University School of Law’s Pro Bono Program and the San Antonio Bar Foundation will offer a variety of presentations. Speakers will focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and this February’s winter storm on residents’ lives. This year’s event will begin at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 1, with a series of 30-minute presentations, followed by 5-minute breaks.

Greg Zlotnick, J.D., the School of Law’s Director of Pro Bono Programs, said this year’s free public event will leverage the technology the School of Law has maximized this past year to open online doors to informative legal presentations.

“Perhaps as much as any point in its 27-year history, People’s Law School will resemble the law school classroom,” Zlotnick said, referencing the School of Law’s pivot to offering online courses to students since March 2020. “As our community begins to emerge from a series of historic challenges brought about by a global pandemic, a devastating winter storm and ever-changing immigration policies, we look forward to virtually convening leading legal practitioners to safely empower our community with useful legal information.” 

Session topics

Local attorneys will share their expertise during 30-minute sessions on a variety of topics, including:

  • Wills
  • Protective orders
  • Tenants’ rights
  • Immigration
  • Consumer protection

During each session, attendees can submit questions to the presenters through a Q&A feature on Zoom. For those unable to attend on May 1, sessions will be recorded and posted for later viewing.

Learn more and register for free on the San Antonio Bar Association’s People’s Law School webpage.

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