In community-engaged learning courses, students go beyond the classroom to connect theory and practice. They collaborate with communities — in Ithaca and around the globe — to design, implement and evaluate real solutions to real problems. These rigorous courses are as dynamic as their fields of study and challenge students to grow as global citizens.
Browse below for all courses, or visit the class roster to see what’s available for winter or spring 2021.
Course Listing
- Title
- Course No.
-
Hispanic Theatre Production
- Course No.
- LATA 3010 / COML 3010 / LSP 3010
- Instructor
- D. Castillo
- Credits
- 3
- Format
- Lecture
Students develop a specific dramatic text for full-scale production. The course involves selection of an appropriate text, close analysis of the literary aspects of the play, and group evaluation of its representational value and effectiveness. All students in the course are involved in some aspects of production of the play, and write a final paper as a course requirement. Credit is variable depending upon the student’s role in play production: a minimum of 50 hours of work is required for 1 credit; a maximum of 3 credits are awarded for 100 hours or more of work.
View full course description -
Dispute Resolution Practicum
- Course No.
- LAW 6019 / ILRLR 6019
- Instructor
- R. Scanza
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
This course has the purpose of linking classroom discussion and analysis of arbitration, and related dispute resolution techniques with opportunities for students to participate and observe arbitration cases conducted under the auspices of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. The course is designed to be an advanced seminar for ILR graduate and undergraduate and Cornell law students who have a serious interest in working in arbitration, mediation, or other third-party procedures. Classroom discussions and readings will focus on labor arbitration (i.e., the use of arbitration in unionized settings) and employment arbitration (i.e., the use of arbitration in cases involving nonunion employees). Several sessions of the course will be devoted to the use of dispute resolution in other arenas, including commercial and securities disputes. The effectiveness of arbitration as techniques for resolving conflict will be assessed and lessons will be drawn about the best practices used by neutrals, advocates and parties.
Students will also participate in Cornell’s pioneering ADR Scrimmage Series. Scrimmages involve student teams competing in arbitration cases involving students from other law schools and universities. Ohio State, Michigan State, Missouri, Stanford and Illinois teams are expected to participate. Through participation and observation of intercollegiate arbitration cases, enrich the student’s understanding of how advocates prepare and present cases and how arbitrators decide them.
View full course description -
Campus Mediation Practicum
- Course No.
- LAW 6027 / ILRLR 6027
- Instructor
- K. Nobles
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
This course is offered to students interested in acquiring the knowledge, skills and techniques necessary to mediate interpersonal disputes. In the first segment of the course, students will be introduced to the guiding principles of interpersonal mediation. A review of the theories of conflict, its roots and its resolution, set the stage for the role mediation can effectively play in resolving conflict. Students are introduced to the models of mediation and the benefits and challenges of each, including a comparative analysis of evaluative, facilitative and transformative styles of mediation. In the second segment, students will be assigned to mediate cases referred to the Scheinman Institute from the Office of the Judicial Administrator. The role of gender, race, culture, ethics and impasse in mediation will all be examined and incorporated into workshops and case studies. Students will have several opportunities to apply their knowledge of mediation and acquire the skills necessary to become effective mediators. Following each case assignment, students will be required to write a paper analyzing the nature of the complaint, the approach and techniques employed during the case and the student’s evaluation of what worked and did not work in their attempt to resolve the conflict. Oversight will be provided by the course instructors.
View full course description -
Cornell Prison Education Program Teaching Practicum
- Course No.
- LAW 6204
- Instructor
- Staff
- Credits
- 3
- Format
- Lecture
Students in the Practicum will co-teach a law-related course at either Auburn or Cayuga correctional facilities, as part of the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP), which offers college courses to inmates working toward their associates’ degrees. Interested students should secure a full-time faculty advisor and submit a course proposal to the CPEP. Accepted students will design a detailed course syllabus, procure teaching materials, and teach a 2-hour class on a weekly basis. Students will also be expected to create, administer, and evaluate midterm and final examinations. Students must travel to and from a correctional facility on a weekly basis, at their own expense. Limited funds are available for teaching materials. Students who have secured a faculty advisor and who have received approval for their course from CPEP should direct inquiries about funding to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
View full course description
-
Asylum and Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic
- Course No.
- LAW 7801
- Instructor
- I. Kysel
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Students will learn asylum, Convention Against Torture, and immigration law in class lectures, readings, and while representing clients. Most students will represent clients on appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals, although the Clinic does accept federal petitions for review and cases before asylum officers from time to time. Students will also learn advanced legal writing techniques, including appellate strategies, persuasive storytelling, the use of expert reports, and effective argument within complex legal frameworks. Students will work in teams to complete all tasks necessary to zealously represent their client, including drafting an appellate brief, affidavits, and motions; maintaining client contact; and locating expert and other witnesses. In addition, students will develop litigation skills such as advanced legal research, case theory development, factual development and analysis (including interviewing, transcript review, and international human rights research), collaboration, cultural competency, and self-evaluation. Students will learn to overcome the unique challenges attorneys face when representing clients from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds, as well as clients who are incarcerated. The instructors will consider the following factors (in no particular order) when admitting students: commitment to public interest or immigration law work, legal writing and research ability, and collegiality. For more information about the Clinic, visit the clinic website: http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/academics/clinicalprogram/Asylum-Clinic/index.cfm
View full course description
-
Advanced Immigration Clinic
- Course No.
- LAW 7804
- Instructor
- S. Kalantry, E. McKee, S. Yale-Loehr
- Credits
- 2
- Format
- Lecture
-
Advanced Labor Law Clinic
- Course No.
- LAW 7805
- Instructor
- A. Cornell
- Credits
- 3
- Format
- Lecture
The Advanced Labor Law Clinic provides students another opportunity to deepen their understanding of traditional labor and employment law by representing the interests of workers with typical workplace issues. There is no classroom component to this course. Students will dedicate their time to addressing client inquiries related to organizing, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice charges, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act or other workplace issues. Students may also have the opportunity to represent their clients in a case before the National Labor Relations Board, in mediation or arbitration pursuant to the dispute resolution mechanism in the collective bargaining agreement. In addition to the domestic labor law inquiries, interested students may have the opportunity to address international labor law topics as well. The international labor law work typically occurs in Latin America. During the semester, there will likely be two guest speakers and two panel discussions on timely labor law topics, which students will be required to attend, along with weekly meetings to discuss case preparation and advancement. In this course students will advance the following skills: interviewing, counseling, factual investigation, legal research and writing, problem-solving and depending on the assignment, trial preparation skills (direct and cross-examinations, opening statement and evidentiary arguments).
View full course description -
Capital Punishment Clinic 1
- Course No.
- LAW 7811
- Instructor
- S. L. Johnson, K. M. Weyble
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Death penalty litigation: investigation and the preparation of petitions, memoranda, and briefs. This course is taught as a clinic. Two or possibly three capital cases are worked on by students. Case selection depends on both pedagogical factors and litigation needs of the inmates. Students read the record and research legal issues. Some students are involved in investigation, while others assist in the preparation of papers. All students are included in discussions regarding the necessary investigation, research, and strategy for the cases.
View full course description -
Child Advocacy Clinic 1
- Course No.
- LAW 7812
- Instructor
- A. J. Mooney
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Students will participate in the representation of children who are the subject of family court proceedings. Cases are likely to involve children who are the subjects of petitions such as: abuse or neglect, custody, termination of parental rights, status offense and juvenile delinquency. Students will interview clients and their families, prepare documents such as pleadings, motions, pre-trial memos and proposed findings of fact, and participate in court conferences and hearings. The in-class component of the course will address cross-disciplinary concerns such as working with other professionals and using social science to assist a client. Additionally, the course will focus on child development and the particular ethical concerns involved with the representation of children.
View full course description -
Child Advocacy Clinic II
- Course No.
- LAW 7813
- Instructor
- A. Mooney
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Students in Clinic II will:1) work directly on law guardian cases, taking greater responsibility and working more independently than they are able to in the Child Advocacy Clinic I; 2) develop a more in-depth knowledge of the field of child advocacy by participating in a weekly reading group; 3) act as mentors for students in the Child Advocacy Clinic I, answering simple questions and providing emotional support for students who are often encountering, for the first time in their lives, stark poverty and violence; 4) act as liaisons between the students in the Child Advocacy Clinic I and the instructor, helping to identify areas in which the Clinic students need further instruction; 5) act as teaching assistants for Child Advocacy Clinic I, reviewing work products of the Clinic students and assisting them in locating research, formbooks, and samples of court documents.
View full course description -
Capital Punishment Clinic 2
- Course No.
- LAW 7815
- Instructor
- S. L. Johnson, K. Weyble
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Death penalty litigation: investigation and the preparation of petitions, memoranda, and briefs. This course is taught as a clinic. Two or possibly three capital cases are worked on by students. Case selection depends on both pedagogical factors and litigation needs of the inmates. Students read the record and research legal issues. Some students are involved in investigation, while others assist in the preparation of papers. All students are included in discussions regarding the necessary investigation, research, and strategy for the cases.
View full course description -
Capital Punishment Clinic 3
- Course No.
- LAW 7816
- Instructor
- S. L. Johnson
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Death penalty litigation: investigation and the preparation of petitions, memoranda, and briefs. This course is taught as a clinic. Two or possibly three capital cases are worked on by students. Case selection depends on both pedagogical factors and litigation needs of the inmates. Students read the record and research legal issues. Some students are involved in investigation, while others assist in the preparation of papers. All students are included in discussions regarding the necessary investigation, research, and strategy for the cases.
View full course description -
Externship – Full Time
- Course No.
- LAW 7832
- Instructor
- A. Mooney
- Credits
- 12
- Format
- Lecture
The Externship – Full Time course allows students (24 each semester, for all externship courses) to earn 12 credit hours as externs working full time at approved placement sites at virtually any location (most sites are non-profit organizations or governmental agencies) during the fall or spring semester of their third year or the spring semester of their second year. The course purpose is to provide a bridge between the study of law and its practice. A written application for the course must be submitted to the instructor and approved during the semester preceding the semester the student plans to participate. The student must be supervised/mentored by an attorney and engage in meaningful and “attorney-like” work at the placement which furthers the student’s education and career goals. In addition to his or her work responsibilities for the placement, the extern will create a Learning Agenda, prepare weekly Journal entries, engage in a regular electronic Discussion Board with other externs and the instructor, host the instructor for a site visit, and do a written Description of Placement. See the BlackBoard web site for Externship – Full Time for more detail on these requirements. Note: This course requires off premises travel. The student is responsible for travel to and from the sites.
View full course description -
Criminal Defense Trial Practicum
- Course No.
- LAW 7833
- Instructor
- L. Salisbury
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Students in this course represent defendants in non-felony criminal cases. The course has classroom, courtroom and client representation components. The classroom component focuses on all aspects of the handling of a criminal case, including criminal law and procedure, ethics, trial strategy, plea bargaining and trials. The courtroom component involves attendance at court proceedings, including pre-trial conferences. Students will also interview clients and witnesses, and prepare clients and witnesses for trial. All students will conduct negotiations with the District Attorney’s Office, do legal research, conduct fact investigation, prepare discovery demands and engage in motion practice.
View full course description
-
Externship – Part Time
- Course No.
- LAW 7834
- Instructor
- A. Mooney
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
The Externship – Part Time, Other Local course allows students to earn 4 or more credit hours as externs working at least 8 hours per week at approved placement sites in the Ithaca area while continuing to attend classes at the law school (most sites are with non-profit organizations or governmental agencies). The course purpose is to provide a bridge between the study of law and its practice. A written application for the course must be submitted to the instructor and approved during the semester preceding the semester the student plans to participate. The student must be supervised/mentored by an attorney and engage in meaningful and “attorney-like” work at the placement which furthers the student’s education and career goals. In addition to his or her work responsibilities at the placement, the extern will create a Learning Agenda, prepare weekly Journal entries, engage in a regular electronic Discussion Board with other externs and the instructor, host the instructor for a site visit, and do a written Description of Placement (see the BlackBoard web site for for Externship – Full Time for more detail on these requirements). Note: This course requires off premises travel. The student is responsible for travel to and from the sites.
View full course description -
Entrepreneurship Clinic 1
- Course No.
- LAW 7839
- Instructor
- C. Bigoness
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
The Entrepreneurship Clinic provides students who are interested in transactional work with an opportunity to learn about the legal issues specific to starting and running a business venture. Weekly classes, which may include guest speakers, will introduce students to the common legal questions that entrepreneurs face, including how to choose and form a business entity, structure the ownership of the business, contract with employees and independent contractors, protect intellectual property, and set up the venture for successful financing. Building on the concepts learned in class, student teams will represent local entrepreneurs and start-up businesses on a variety of transactional matters. The client work will introduce students to fundamental transactional skills, ranging from legal research to drafting term sheets and contracts.
View full course description -
Estate Planning Practicum
- Course No.
- LAW 7840
- Instructor
- J. Miller
- Credits
- 3
- Format
- Lecture
The newest addition to Cornell Law School’s Clinical Programs, the Estate Planning Clinic aims to provide students with the unique opportunity of enriching and furthering their legal awareness and experience beyond the classroom environment.Participants will gain valuable, practical experience by assisting people from the local community with some of their more basic estate planning needs, thereby applying their theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. The students’ best skills will be put to practice while they work towards creating an atmosphere of trust and comfort for their clients and learning the essentials of establishing solid attorney-client relationships. Specifically, students will be working in pairs under supervision of faculty to prepare an actual estate plan for the client which includes a last will and testament, a living will, a health care proxy and a power of attorney along with the statutory major gifts rider (if applicable). Students will take part in the entire estate planning process from the initial informational intake meeting, to the preparation of the client’s estate planning documents, to discussing the drafts with the clients along with addressing their comments and changes and to preparing and assisting with the execution of the client’s estate planning documents. To further enhance the learning experience, lectures will be provided on the fundamentals of estate planning from establishing a healthy attorney-client relationship, drafting considerations for the client’s last will and testament, basic related estate and income tax issues, ethical issues and the administration of the client’s estate upon death. The classroom component of the course ensures that students understand not only the legal issues but also the practical and human issues involved in a trusts and estates practice.
View full course description -
Estate Planning Clinic II
- Course No.
- LAW 7844
- Instructor
- J. Miller
- Credits
- 3
- Format
- Lecture
Participants will gain valuable, practical experience by assisting people from the local community with some of their more basic estate planning needs, thereby applying their theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. The students’ best skills will be put to practice while they work towards creating an atmosphere of trust and comfort for their clients and learning the essentials of establishing solid attorney-client relationships.
View full course description -
Advanced Entrepreneurship Clinic
- Course No.
- LAW 7845
- Instructor
- C. Bigoness
- Credits
- 6
- Format
- Lecture
Students will continue to represent local entrepreneurs and start-up businesses on a variety of transactional matters. Students may also engage in additional related projects, such as preparing and delivering workshops to the local business community on relevant topics.
View full course description -
International Human Rights Clinic: Policy Advocacy II
- Course No.
- LAW 7846
- Instructor
- S. Kalantry
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
View full course description
The International Human Rights Clinic: Policy Advocacy’s goal is to teach students how to effectively and ethically support initiatives of protection to vulnerable communities, in across-cultural setting, using international human rights mechanisms. Students will work in two teams each of them addressing one case about indigenous peoples’ rights in the Amazon forest of Ecuador. The first case – Tagaeri and Taromenane People – is a petition in the Inter American Human Rights System. The Tagaeri and Taromenane Peoples are Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation that have suffered three massacres in the last fifteen years that have putted them into the edge of physical disappearance. The second case – Shuar Arutam People – is a case under the tri-party system of the International Labor Organization. The Shuar Arutam community has been resisting mining extraction in their territory, in 2016 a group of Shuar People decided to take a mining companies’ camp built into their ancestral lands and close to the Shuar town of Nankints. Several people were injured and displaced and a police officer killed because of a violent takeover of the town. Both teams will interview experts on the subject, alleged victims of human rights violations and visit the territory of one of the communities, and will draft amicus curiae in the cases. We expect that students will learn (among other things) (1) interviewing skills and techniques, (2) effective desk-research skills as well as fact-finding skills, (3) the application of substantive international human rights laws and mechanisms, (4) the political position and ideologies of the interest groups, and stakeholders impacted by the policies in question, and (5) legal advocacy skills.
Students will receive (1) additional credit for their work during Spring Break in Ecuador. The maximum enrollment in this Clinic is 8 students and is open only to law students. Bilingual (Spanish/English) law students will have a preference in the selection process, so the level of knowledge of Spanish should be mentioned in the application. -
International Human Rights Clinic: Policy Advocacy I
- Course No.
- LAW 7847
- Instructor
- S. Kalantry
- Credits
- 5
- Format
- Lecture
View full course description
The International Human Rights Clinic: Policy Advocacy’s goal is to teach students how to effectively and ethically support initiatives of protection to vulnerable communities, in across-cultural setting, using international human rights mechanisms. Students will work in two teams each of them addressing one case about indigenous peoples’ rights in the Amazon forest of Ecuador. The first case – Tagaeri and Taromenane People – is a petition in the Inter American Human Rights System. The Tagaeri and Taromenane Peoples are Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation that have suffered three massacres in the last fifteen years that have putted them into the edge of physical disappearance. The second case – Shuar Arutam People – is a case under the tri-party system of the International Labor Organization. The Shuar Arutam community has been resisting mining extraction in their territory, in 2016 a group of Shuar People decided to take a mining companies’ camp built into their ancestral lands and close to the Shuar town of Nankints. Several people were injured and displaced and a police officer killed because of a violent takeover of the town. Both teams will interview experts on the subject, alleged victims of human rights violations and visit the territory of one of the communities, and will draft amicus curiae in the cases. We expect that students will learn (among other things) (1) interviewing skills and techniques, (2) effective desk-research skills as well as fact-finding skills, (3) the application of substantive international human rights laws and mechanisms, (4) the political position and ideologies of the interest groups, and stakeholders impacted by the policies in question, and (5) legal advocacy skills.
Students will receive (1) additional credit for their work during Spring Break in Ecuador. The maximum enrollment in this Clinic is 8 students and is open only to law students. Bilingual (Spanish/English) law students will have a preference in the selection process, so the level of knowledge of Spanish should be mentioned in the application. -
International Human Rights: Litigation and Advocacy I
- Course No.
- LAW 7855
- Instructor
- Z. Ahmed, S. Babcock
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
In this clinical course, students will work on projects that will expose them to diverse forms of human rights advocacy. The clinic is litigation-oriented, although clinic students may also be exposed to legislative advocacy and may have the opportunity to engage in fact-finding and research regarding human rights violations abroad. A current sampling of projects includes: (1) appellate advocacy on behalf of prisoners in Malawi who have been denied the right to counsel, and collaboration with lawyers in Malawi to reduce prison overcrowding and protect the rights of pre-trial detainees (in the past, a number of clinic students have traveled to Malawi to work directly with prisoners there); (2) representation of a prisoner at Guantanamo who was tortured by U.S. interrogators; and (3) working with lawyers around the world to promote the implementation of international norms regarding the application of the death penalty.
View full course description -
Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic I
- Course No.
- LAW 7857
- Instructor
- B. Beltran, B. Lyon
- Credits
- 6
- Format
- Lecture
Permission of instructor required. Students who wish to apply to the clinic should submit a resume, transcript, and short statement of interest (no more than two pages) to Prof. Lyon. For more information about the clinic, email Prof. Lyon (beth.lyon@cornell.edu) and schedule a meeting. This course requires off premises travel to meet with clients and participate in hearings. Employment on a farm is one of the worlds’ most difficult and dangerous occupations. Farmworkers experience geographic, linguistic, and cultural isolation, separation from family, immigration insecurity reinforced by policing practices, workplace sexual violence, and exclusion from protective employment laws. Working with the new clinic’s community partners, Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic I student attorneys will handle immigration and employment matters on behalf of farmworkers in the region, work that will typically involve negotiation and often require litigation. Students will also work in brief advice and referral outreach sessions in farmworker communities. Clinic participants may also have the opportunity to work on research and writing projects with civil rights, environmental protection, and farmworker rights organizations. Farmworker Clinic students will participate in a lawyering seminar and work with a clinic partner on their assigned cases. The lawyering seminar will focus on skills students need for effective client representation. Students will develop key lawyering skills, including interviewing, counseling, fact investigation, drafting, negotiation, language accessible practice, and, in some cases, trial advocacy.
View full course description -
Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic II
- Course No.
- LAW 7858
- Instructor
- B. Beltran, B. Lyon
- Credits
- 2
- Format
- Lecture
Students collaborate with farmworkers, farmworker families, and partner organizations to use the law in service of their clients’ goals. Students who have completed the first semester of any clinical course can seek the instructors’ permission to enroll in Farmworker Clinic II, for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 credits, depending on the number of projects undertaken. Students in Farmworker Clinic II work on individual cases for clients and/or non-litigation advocacy projects. They attend roughly four one-hour seminar class “case rounds” meetings during the semester, usually at the same time that Farmworker Clinic I meets. Other multi-clinic classes and trainings will be made available as well.
View full course description -
Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic III
- Course No.
- LAW 7859
- Instructor
- B. Beltran, B. Lyon
- Credits
- 2
- Format
- Lecture
Students collaborate with farmworkers, farmworker families, and partner organizations to use the law in service of their clients’ goals. Students who have completed the first semester of any clinical course can seek the instructors’ permission to enroll in Farmworker Clinic III, for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 credits, depending on the number of projects undertaken. Students in Farmworker Clinic II work on individual cases for clients and/or non-litigation advocacy projects. They attend roughly four one-hour seminar class “case rounds” meetings during the semester, usually at the same time that Farmworker Clinic I meets. Other multi-clinic classes and trainings will be made available as well.
View full course description -
International Human Rights: Litigation and Advocacy II
- Course No.
- LAW 7860
- Instructor
- S. Babcock
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
In this clinical course, students will work on projects that will expose them to diverse forms of human rights advocacy. The clinic is litigation-oriented, although clinic students may have the opportunity to engage in fact-finding and research regarding human rights violations abroad. A current sampling of projects includes: (1) Advocacy on behalf of prisoners in Tanzania and Malawi whose legal rights have been violated. Our work in Malawi has already resulted in the release of 250 prisoners, and a number of clinic students have traveled to both countries in connection with this project; (2) Representation of a Mexican national sentenced to death in the state of Ohio, including litigation of treaty violations in his case; and (3) Advocacy before the United Nations regarding human rights violations committed by Israel in the Occupied Syrian Golan.
View full course description -
Externship – Pro Bono Scholars Program
- Course No.
- LAW 7862
- Instructor
- A. Mooney
- Credits
- 12
- Format
- Lecture
The Externship – Pro Bono Scholars Program course allows third year students in their last semester to take the NY Bar Examination in February and then earn their last 12 credits hours working full time from the end of February through the end of May as externs at approved placement sites doing exclusively pro bono legal services for indigent clients. The course purpose is to provide a bridge between the study of law and its practice, as well as serving low income clients who might otherwise not receive legal services. A written application for the course must be submitted to the instructor and approved during the early fall of the student’s third year. The student must be supervised/mentored by an attorney and engage in meaningful and “attorney-like” work at the placement. The experience must further the student’s education and career goals. In addition to his or her work responsibilities for the placement and indigent clients, the extern will create a Learning Agenda, prepare weekly Journal entries, engage in a regular electronic Discussion Board with other externs and the instructor, host the instructor for a site visit, and do a written Description of Placement.
View full course description -
Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic IV
- Course No.
- LAW 7864
- Instructor
- B. Beltran, B. Lyon
- Credits
- 2
- Format
- Lecture
Students collaborate with farmworkers, farmworker families, and partner organizations to use the law in service of their clients’ goals. Students who have completed the first semester of any clinical course can seek the instructors’ permission to enroll in Farmworker Clinic IV, for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 credits, depending on the number of projects undertaken. Students in Farmworker Clinic II work on individual cases for clients and/or non-litigation advocacy projects. They attend roughly four one-hour seminar class “case rounds” meetings during the semester, usually at the same time that Farmworker Clinic I meets. Other multi-clinic classes and trainings will be made available as well.
View full course description -
First Amendment Law Clinic
- Course No.
- LAW 7867
- Instructor
- M. Jackson, C. Kenney
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
This will be the first semester of the newly-created First Amendment Clinic. Students will engage in litigation and policy analysis supporting the interests of news outlets, journalists, researchers, and other newsgatherers in aid of their critical function of reporting and communicating important news and information, as well as human rights advocates, political activists, and other individuals targeted based on their expression. The Clinic’s cases involve the intersection of Freedom of Information laws or the First Amendment with several substantive areas of law related to the promotion of social justice: immigration, criminal justice, scientific integrity, democratic institutions and norms, human rights, journalism, and internet speech. Students will have the opportunity to vet potential cases, conduct offensive and defensive legal research, write party and amicus briefs, and, if they continue in the clinic next year, may have the possibility of conducting oral argument. The First Amendment Clinic is committed to teamwork and developing student’s collaborative skills, and students will have the opportunity to work on these skills in tandem with members of other clinics with which we are co-counseling. In addition, in the clinic seminar, practitioners in the field will speak to the class to provide additional practical insight to students. Finally, students will have the option to visit a newsroom as part of the clinic’s “field trip” toward the end of the semester. Students who sign up for the clinic will be required to participate in a “bootcamp” to take place the weekend after the first week of classes. To apply, please submit a resume, statement of interest, short writing sample, and a transcript.
View full course description -
Juvenile Life Without Parole Clinic
- Course No.
- LAW 7869
- Instructor
- J. Blume
- Credits
- 4
- Format
- Lecture
Death penalty litigation: investigation and the preparation of petitions, memoranda, and briefs. Case selection and student assignments depend on both pedagogical factors and litigation needs of clinic clients. Students read the trial and lower court record and research legal issues. Some students are involved in investigation, while others primarily assist in the preparation of briefs, petitions and other case documents. All students are included in discussions regarding the necessary investigation, research, and strategy for the cases.
View full course description