New York Attorney General Practicum I

Catalog description

The New York State Attorney General offers a clinic in which law students work 12-15 hours per week in the Attorney General's Syracuse Regional Office and attend a weekly class at Cornell. Under the supervision of an Assistant Attorney General, students perform legal research, writing, analysis, draft original legal documents and provide trial support. Students will have an opportunity to attend hearings, trials, court arguments, and pre-trial proceedings. Students will acquire litigation skills as well as specialized knowledge of public advocacy litigation. The class will focus on legal and ethical issues seen in litigation and review student experiences working in the Attorney General's office. Each week there will be a different subject area of Attorney General practice discussed or there will be a guest speaker. Topics include medical malpractice, defective highway design, 1983 civil rights actions in Federal Court, petitions in State Court seeking to overturn state actions, prisoner claims public advocacy litigation. Guest speakers will be attorneys serving in various capacities in State or Federal government and often include a judge or court attorney. There will also be a pro bono opportunity to accompany an attorney to a volunteer legal services clinics operated by the Onondaga County Bar Association.