Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Clinic

Catalog description

The Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Clinic allows to students to work on matters involving individual and organizational rights, with a focus on First Amendment topics. Students will engage in litigation, policy, and advocacy projects to affirm their clients' legal interests in courts, legislatures, and in society under the supervision of the instructor. Clients may include individuals, organizations, and groups seeking to promote and protect civil rights and civil liberties, including journalists, activists, non-profit organizations, and citizens committed to social justice. Projects will explore specific areas of First Amendment law and how they intersect with other areas (e.g. racial justice, criminal law, immigration, reproductive rights, administrative law, and intellectual property). Students work collaboratively and with primary responsibility for the client relationship, developing core lawyering skills (e.g. interviewing, counseling, legal research and writing, strategic planning, and cross-cultural lawyering). Students will also learn selected areas of First Amendment law, constitutional litigation, and remedies, though no formal experience in those areas is required. Through interaction with the clients and the communities in which they live and operate, students will gain exposure to the role of public interest lawyers in a larger social and political system, and how litigation and advocacy can help facilitate strategic goals.