When Detroit-based Soulardarity was getting off the ground, it turned to Michigan Law’s Community Enterprise Clinic (CEC) for transactional legal help. As Soulardarity’s mission to provide “energy democracy” to underserved citizens evolved, so, too, did the CEC’s support—which has been crucial to Soulardity’s success, said Jackson Koeppel, the organization’s executive director.
“The clinic has been with Soulardarity through thick and thin, for the better part of a decade, from our formation and bylaws to starting our energy cooperative,” Koeppel said. “The culture of support for our needs and visions as the client and helping us to make our own decisions has meant that we are not only getting great legal service, we are learning through the process. That makes a huge difference to grassroots organizations led by communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis and social injustice.”
