Public Policy Practicum and Clinic
Available to: 2nd or 3rd year students
Course and Clinic MAY be repeated for credit
This course will involve law students working collaboratively with Professor Chiang and counsel at the ACLU of Utah to seek law reform and address civil rights issues via public policy advocacy and complex civil litigation. Students will work as full members of a legal team. The class and the clinic may be taken jointly, or students enrolled in the class may opt to perform clinical work pro bono without enrolling in the clinic. A minimum of fifty hours of pro bono or clinical work is required.
Course: Public Policy Practicum (2 cr./semester, graded, taught Fall and Spring). The classroom component of the clinic will focus on the application of theory to practice. Students will engage with the relevant substantive law, discuss the strategies available to advocates seeking change, confront legal and ethical issues as they arise in their work, receive training on practical legal skills as needed, and reflect upon their experiences. Students will be graded on a combination of participation and the completion of assignments for the clinical component. There will be no final exam. The course may be repeated for credit.
Placements: (1 – 3 cr./semester, P/F, Fall and Spring). The clinical component will be supervised by Professor Chiang. Acting as a small legal team, Professor Chiang and students will work in close cooperation with outside counsel on activities that may include interviewing witnesses, gathering and analyzing the relevant facts and law, conducting analysis of pending legislation, and drafting legal and public policy advocacy documents. Although the clinical component is P/F, assignments undertaken for the clinical component will factor into grades assigned for the Public Policy Practicum course.
To learn more about the projects the Public Policy Practicum has been working on, visit the public policy practicum community page: http://www.law.utah.edu/org/civil-rights-clinic/.
Faculty: Professor Emily Chiang
Registration & Placement: Students may enroll in the course online. To enroll in the clinic, students must complete the Clinical Program Application Form and submit it with the required documents (résumé and short statement of interest).
LAW 7844-001: Public Policy Practicum Fall and/or Spring: Wednesday 3:15-5:15 pm
LAW 7953-001: Public Policy Clinic Fall and Spring (1-3 credits)
Additional work WILL APPLY to the Pro Bono Initiative certificate.
Clinic Forms: