Michael Leonard is a Supervising Attorney in the Housing Rights Practice Area. Before joining TakeRoot Justice (when it was still the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center), Michael worked at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, assisting communities to fight evictions and for basic service delivery in informal settlements. Michael was also attorney at a law clinic in the Bronx called Part of the Solution, where he represented low-income people in eviction proceedings and public benefits matters. He is a member of the National Lawyers Guild and has been involved in civil rights legal education, community organizing, and prisoners’ rights initiatives. CUNY School of Law, J.D. (2010); Fordham University, B.A. (2004).