I.  General recommendations 

This section lists courses recommended for any area of public interest law.  The section is divided into courses that equip a student with the “general advocacy tools” and practical knowledge to practice law effectively, and “courses of cross-cutting interest,” in which students learn materials applicable to a range of public interest jobs.

General advocacy tools

• Administrative Law

• Advocacy & Adjudication

• Civil Rights Law

• Civil Trial Practice

• Complex Litigation (Course)

• Complex Litigation (Seminar)

• Conflict of Laws

• Discovery and Depositions in Civil Litigation

• Dispute Resolution Processes

• Drafting Legal Instruments

• Drafting Litigation Documents
• Equality in American Law
• Evidence
• Evidence in Practice and in Depth
• Expert Witnesses
• Federal Courts
• Legislation
• Mediation and the Settlement Process
• Persuasion and Advocacy
• Remedies
• State and Local Government

Courses of cross-cutting interest for public interest law

• Poverty Law
• Immigration and Naturalization
• Selected Topics in Immigration Law
• Technology, Human Rights, and Equality
• Children and the Law
• Jurisprudence
• Election Law
• Catholic Social Doctrine
• Terrorism and Civil Liberties
• Post-Conviction Remedies and Prisoners’ Rights
• Education Law

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These course recommendations are directed to substantive areas of public interest practice.  The recommendations are a mix of specific course offerings and cross-references to curricular guidance in specific areas of practice.

Consumer Law 

Commercial Law Survey 

Criminal Law

see separate Criminal Law and Procedure curricular guide

Elder Law

Estates and Trusts
Health Care Access & Payment 

Environmental Law

see separate Environmental Law curricular guide

Family Law

see separate Family Law curricular guide

International Law

Comparative Constitutional Design
Comparative Constitutional Law
Comparative Law
Comparative Income Taxation
Comparative Procedure
Selected Problems in International Human Rights
 

Health Law

see separate Health Law curricular guide

Students interested in public interest issues might be particularly interested in:

AIDS Law & Policy
Bioethics and Public Policy
Children's Health and the Law
Disability Law
Health Care Access & Payment
Health Care Fraud and Abuse
Mental Health Law
Public Health Law

Labor and Employment

see separate Labor/Employment curricular guide

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Preparation for public interest practice should include a healthy dose of practice experience during law school. “Real world” experience serves several functions.  It broadens students’ understanding  of available areas of practice; provides valuable on-the-job training; fosters a web of public interest contacts; and allows students to “give back” from an early stage in their careers. 

Clinics

see separate Center for Social Justice curricular guidance

Externships

Through the Externship Program, approved students obtain credit hours and hands-on legal experience working for non-profit or governmental agencies.  For information, contact Stephanie Kauflin, Associate Director of the Office of Career Services, at kauflist@shu.edu or 973-642-8778.

For information on Judicial Externships, visit the website, linked here.

Pro Bono Program 

Under the Pro Bono Program, students gain legal knowledge and practical skills serving non-profit organizations, including the Federal Public Defenders’ Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project.  Students completing the Program receive notations on their transcripts and recognition at commencement.   For information, contact Professor Philip Ross, Center for Social Justice, at rossphil@shu.edu or 973-642-8700.

Internships

Students interning in non-profit and government agencies obtain invaluable educational experiences, attaining substantive and practical knowledge in the field. Students have interned for many organizations, including the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, The Center for Democratic Development in Ghana, American Friends Service Committee, and Housing Conservation Coordinators.  Many such internships are unpaid, although the law school provides fellowships to students in some internships.  For example, a student interning for a non-profit and governmental organization serving an underrepresented population over a summer can qualify for the Public Interest Summer Fellowship. 

Events

Students can foster interest and awareness of public interest issues by attending events, conferences, and public interest career fairs throughout the year.  Faculty, administrators and students host educational forums on a range of issues on and off campus.  The school also provides for attendance to several conferences, including the Equal Justice Works Conference in Washington, DC, and the Public Interest Career Fair in New York City.

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The public interest curriculum at the school is as varied as this diverse field.  The educational opportunities range from classroom instruction in substantive law to field experience through which students apply substantive knowledge. 

Vital to public interest education are also interpersonal exchanges of ideas among students, faculty and administration. A non-exclusive list of full-time faculty engaged in public interest scholarship and practice include: Mark Alexander, Michael Ambrosio, Baher Azmy, Carl Coleman, Jenny-Brooke Condon, Elizabeth Defeis, Mark Denbeaux, David Feige, Linda Fisher, Paula Franzese, Bernard Freamon, Shavar Jeffries, E. Judson Jennings, Rachel Godsil, Kevin Kelly, John Jacobi, Solangel Maldonado, Denis McLaughlin, Lori Nessel, Marc Poirier, H. Kwasi Prempeh, Ronald Riccio, Jonathan Romberg, Claudette St. Romain, Philip Ross, and Charles Sullivan.   

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