Laila Hlass Recognized for Advancing Clinical Education with CLEA Award

The Clinical Legal Education Association has recognized Tulane Law Professor Laila Hlass with the Outstanding Advocate for Clinical Teachers Award. The award honors individuals who serve as voices for clinical faculty and advance the field through teaching, scholarship, and community building. 

Hlass, who co-directs Tulane's Immigrant Rights Clinic, is known for her deep commitment to social justice, innovative pedagogy, and the mentorship of the next generation of public-interest lawyers. Alongside Duke University Professor Allison Korn, Hlass has co-led the impactful "Teaching Justice" webinar series, which has created a vital space for innovative voices in the field. 

"This is a well-earned and meaningful recognition," Tulane Law Dean Marcilynn Burke said. "It's clear Professor Hlass has built more than a webinar series—she has built a community, creating a space for important and innovative voices." 

A nationally recognized expert on immigration and criminal legal systems, Hlass has written extensively on the intersection of those systems, the treatment of immigrant youth, and the ways race plays an outsized role in immigration detention. Her clinical work and scholarship are shaped by her own experience as a law student, where working with children through an immigration clinic proved formative. She has since dedicated her career to supporting immigrant communities and training law students to do the same.