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.

FAMILY LAW CLINIC (CLIN7182, 7183)
4 credits clinical component, 1 credit classroom component.
Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Family Law, Marriage and Divorce.

The Family Law Clinic provides students with the opportunity to develop practice skills and an intensive understanding of various areas of family law practice. Students serve as counsel to clients in divorce and adoption cases from original interview through final judgment. Students also serve as law guardians for children in termination of parental rights and other cases. They are supervised in their activities by the clinic's attorneys, but have primary responsibility for the conduct of the case. Students draft all pleadings and make court appearances on behalf of their clients. The clinic offers training in techniques of advocacy and in legal ethics as well as providing an important service to those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation. 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.

IMMIGRANT WORKERS' RIGHTS CLINIC (CLIN7156-57)
4 credits clinical component, 1 credit classroom component.

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

IMMIGRATION LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC (CLIN7154, 7155)
4 credits clinical component, 1 credit classroom component.
Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility.

The Immigration Law/Human Rights Clinic provides students the opportunity to represent people from all over the world who have fled persecution and seek political asylum in the United States. Students enrolled in the clinic represent indigent clients before the INS, immigration judges, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Third Circuit. Students will be actively involved in all stages of representation including: researching human rights conditions in diverse countries; interviewing and counseling clients; drafting affidavits; researching and writing briefs; preparing witnesses for trial and examining witnesses (including experts) in court. In addition, because so many of the clinic's clients have just arrived in the United States and are being held at the nearby INS detention center, students gain exposure to the conditions of INS detention. In addition to working on political asylum cases, students may also represent clients pursuing other forms of relief from removal or family-based immigration matters (including battered spouse self-petitions). The classroom component combines trial skills with substantive immigration law. The law 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 classroom 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.

JUVENILE JUSTICE CLINIC (CLIN7164)
2 credits.
Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility.

The Juvenile Justice Clinic provides students the opportunity to litigate before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Part. In the process, students learn about the premises underlying the juvenile system and develop specialized skills necessary for practice in that court. Students are involved in a full range of juvenile court proceedings including detention hearings, formal trials and sentencing hearings. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.

The course is letter-graded.

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

IMPACT LITIGATION CLINIC (CLIN7184, 7185)
2 credits clinical component Fall semesters. 2 credits clinical component Spring semesters. 1 credit classroom component Spring semesters.
Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility.

Each Impact Litigation Clinic student briefs and argues an appeal in federal court over the course of a semester. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit appoints the Impact Litigation Clinic to represent indigent, pro se litigants in federal appellate cases that raise noteworthy legal issues. Cases include a range of subject areas such as employment and housing discrimination, police brutality, and unconstitutional prison conditions. Students work closely with clinical faculty, reviewing the trial court record, preparing the appendix for appeal, consulting with the client, researching and writing the appellate briefs, and preparing for oral argument. At the end of the semester, each student argues her case before the Second Circuit. Both the clinical and classroom component of the course address the legal rules and strategic considerations involved in the appellate process; the course focuses more generally on advanced legal research, analysis and writing, and preparation for effective oral advocacy in the courtroom. 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: This course does not satisfy the Trial Requirement. Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

PRO BONO SERVICE PROGRAM

The Pro Bono Service Program affords every student the opportunity to gain hands-on legal experience while serving the community. With more than twenty-five participating agencies and organizations, the Program offers a variety of options for interested students. Students may pursue an interest in criminal defense with the Office of the Public Defender, or they may assist pro se litigants in the Superior Court of New Jersey (Essex County). Students interested in immigration law may select an assignment with one of three agencies, including the International Institute of New Jersey. Other options enable students to serve AIDS patients at the Hyacinth Foundation, provide income tax assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Project, offer counsel to teenage mothers at Kenmare Alternative High School and provide representation to victims of domestic violence at various legal agencies. Once committed, students are expected to contribute a minimum of 35 hours. While no credit is awarded, a notation of participation is placed on the students transcript and a commendation is given at graduation.