Buck Colbert Franklin Legal Clinic
The B.C. Franklin Legal Clinic launched in fall 2021 with the generous support of the Sanford and Irene Burnstein Family Foundation and The University of Tulsa’s College of Law alumni.
Students enroll in the B.C. Franklin Clinic for one semester and can earn six academic credit hours. They may also enroll in an advanced clinical semester, where they can represent clients in particularly challenging matters or work on research projects.
In the clinic, students gain experience working on legal matters for real clients. From intake through case closing, they develop essential lawyering skills by managing client cases. Students can expect opportunities to interview clients, draft petitions, motions and briefs, and learn basic evidence and trial advocacy. Through both client work and seminar participation, students also build skills in cross-cultural and trauma-informed lawyering.
In the clinic seminar, students delve into the history of north Tulsa and the impact of that history on today’s community. They study the Tulsa Race Massacre and the attempts to obtain justice for the survivors and descendants of the victims. These discussions allow students to gain an understanding of the role of the justice system in the lives of marginalized communities, the implicit bias and systemic racism inherent in the systems in which lawyers work, the challenges of public interest lawyering, and the balance between community education and individual representation.
Requests for legal services are continually evaluated to reflect changes and additions in the community’s legal needs. To ensure year-round service, the clinic employs a staff attorney and a legal fellow who can provide representation when school is not in session.
Note to individuals seeking legal assistance:
As a law school legal clinic, the B.C. Franklin Clinic must balance the educational needs of students with the legal needs of the community. The clinic has limited resources and cannot offer representation to every individual seeking assistance.
Who was Buck Colbert (B.C.) Franklin?
B.C. Franklin was a Black attorney who moved to Tulsa shortly before the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre to open a law office in Greenwood, the neighborhood destroyed in the attack. His wife and children remained in Rentiesville while Franklin established himself. At the time of the massacre, Franklin had a law office and lived in a boarding house, both of which were destroyed. In 2015, Franklin’s detailed account of the horrors of the Tulsa Race Massacre was recovered.
The unspeakable brutality that Franklin witnessed did not deter his deep commitment to community service. Remarkably, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, Franklin and one of his law partners, I.H. Spears, opened a law office in a Red Cross tent, assisted by Effie Thompson, a family friend. Franklin represented north Tulsans who survived the massacre in their lawsuits against their insurance companies, the government and other defendants for damages.
Franklin exemplified legal brilliance, community service, tenacity, and resilience. To live up to his legacy is our goal, and his work continues to inspire our vision for TU Law’s B.C. Franklin Legal Clinic.
Clinic Highlights
Students, faculty and staff working in the B.C. Franklin Clinic have represented community members:
- Defending parental rights in state court proceedings
- Representing community members in guardianships, probate, child custody, child support, paternity actions and protective orders
- Representing survivors of domestic violence seeking resentencing under the Oklahoma Survivor’s Act
- Applying for expungement and commutation of excessive sentences
- Drafting a Transfer on Death Deed, a posthumous quitclaim deed, two wills and a trust
- Representing a business in applying for trademarks
- Incorporating an organization
- Guiding residents in filing unemployment appeals
The B.C. Franklin Clinic was invited by the city of Tulsa and the Oklahoma Access to Justice Commission to join a title-clearing project and is part of a group of Oklahoma lawyers reviewing the need for reproductive justice services and advocacy.
Each year, UTulsa Law hosts the B.C. Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture. In 2022, his grandson John Whittington Franklin, who served at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. as program manager in the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies, curator at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and senior manager at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, was the featured speaker. His lecture included information on African American and African Diasporan history and culture, the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and his grandfather’s work in the Greenwood community. John Franklin then sat down with two TU Law students to discuss their work in the B.C. Franklin Legal Clinic.