Gender Just Clinic Fieldwork

Catalog description

Students represent indigent women in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Representation usually begins with a family law or immigration matter, and students then decide whether to represent their client in related matters. Students have full responsibility for their cases, while working under the supervision of the faculty. The program focuses upon learning the essentials of being a lawyer, including representation in court and administrative proceedings, as well as in transactional matters, and examining the role of gender and law in shaping women's experiences with the economy, state programs (such as social welfare, immigration and housing) and their families. Through the mixture of matters in each case, students explore how as lawyers they can assist their clients with issues that are critical in their lives. In addition to representing clients under the supervision of clinic faculty, students participate in weekly rounds about their cases and in a seminar about the theory and practice of client-based advocacy. Through this clinic, students may participate in a specialized focus on representation in proceedings addressing domestic violence (Domestic Violence Clinic). Students represent clients in actions in the District of Columbia Superior Court to obtain a Civil Protection Order and in immigration matters under the Violence Against Women Act. They examine how lawyers assist clients who face violence in their lives, exploring the consequences of and alternatives to legal action, as well as the role of gender in relationships involving violence. Some students may spend one semester prosecuting domestic violence cases criminally in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. In addition to work on their cases, students participate in weekly rounds and in a seminar about the theory and practice of client-based advocacy.