CIVIL LITIGATION CLINIC (CLIN7180, 7181)
4 credits clinical component, 1 credit classroom component.
Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility.

The Civil Litigation Clinic provides students with an opportunity to litigate civil cases in a variety of fora and subject areas. The caseload may range from a federal class action lawsuit to landlord-tenant, consumer, and family cases in state court. Students will engage in all phases of the legal process, including interviewing, counseling, negotiation, motions, pleadings, discovery, trials, and appeals. The clinic represents tenants in landlord-tenant cases, represents parents and children in divorce and custody proceedings, and litigates consumer and a variety of other cases as well. The seminar is designed to ensure that students develop a common base of litigation skills through simulated exercises and will also introduce students to relevant substantive law. In addition to the seminar, students participate in weekly team meetings for the cases for which they are responsible. The Clinic requires an average of fifteen hours per week in addition to the two hour seminar. Litigation demands will vary on a weekly basis, and students must have the flexibility to commit more extended hours to meet court deadlines. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.

The course is letter-graded for both the clinical and class components.

NOTE: The clinic fulfills the Trial Requirement if the student is eligible to appear in court under New Jersey Court Rules.  Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.