Students participating in the Criminal Defense Clinic represent defendants in the Essex County Special Remand Court. The clinic’s clients are individuals who face a variety of charges downgraded from indictable offenses. The clinic requires students to perform a range of lawyering skills, including client interviewing and factual investigation; drafting and arguing motions; and negotiating and counseling clients with respect to plea agreements. Students appear in court regularly and may also prepare for, and in some cases handle, trials. Adjunct Professor Esere Onaodowan, who has extensive criminal defense experience in New Jersey and New York, supervise the clinic in the Fall 2017 semester. The clinic is open to all students who are in their final year of law school and who have completed Professional Responsibility, Persuasion and Advocacy, and Evidence. The clinic seminar addresses essential lawyering skills and exposes students to topical issues relating to criminal justice reform.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

Students participating in the Criminal Defense Clinic represent defendants in the Essex County Special Remand Court. The clinic’s clients are individuals who face a variety of charges downgraded from indictable offenses. The clinic requires students to perform a range of lawyering skills, including client interviewing and factual investigation; drafting and arguing motions; and negotiating and counseling clients with respect to plea agreements. Students appear in court regularly and may also prepare for, and in some cases handle, trials. Adjunct Professor Esere Onaodowan, who has extensive criminal defense experience in New Jersey and New York, supervise the clinic in the Fall 2017 semester. The clinic is open to all students who are in their final year of law school and who have completed Professional Responsibility, Persuasion and Advocacy, and Evidence. The clinic seminar addresses essential lawyering skills and exposes students to topical issues relating to criminal justice reform.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Civil Litigation Clinic handles a variety of civil cases on behalf of its clients, with a primary focus on civil rights, housing, and education cases. During the semester, students may handle all aspects of a civil case, from conducting an initial interview to trying a case or arguing a motion. Students draft complaints, answers and counterclaims; propound and respond to interrogatories and document requests; conduct and defend depositions; draft motions and memoranda of law; conduct settlement negotiations; and appear in court. 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. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Civil Litigation Clinic handles a variety of civil cases on behalf of its clients, with a primary focus on civil rights, housing, and education cases. During the semester, students may handle all aspects of a civil case, from conducting an initial interview to trying a case or arguing a motion. Students draft complaints, answers and counterclaims; propound and respond to interrogatories and document requests; conduct and defend depositions; draft motions and memoranda of law; conduct settlement negotiations; and appear in court. 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. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Family Law Clinic offers students the opportunity to further develop their legal analytical abilities, learned in core courses, in the context of actual casework while beginning to hone the full range of advocacy skills they will need to be effective in the practice of law. Students serve as counsel to clients in a range of family law cases, including those involving domestic violence restraining orders and adoption, from initial client interview through final judgment. They are supervised in their activities by a clinical faculty member but have primary responsibility for their cases. For example, students draft all pleadings, negotiate with opposing counsel, and represent their clients in court proceedings. Students gain this experience while providing critical legal services to those who are unable to afford legal representation. The clinic is open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Persuasion and Advocacy.

NOTE: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Family Law Clinic offers students the opportunity to further develop their legal analytical abilities, learned in core courses, in the context of actual casework while beginning to hone the full range of advocacy skills they will need to be effective in the practice of law. Students serve as counsel to clients in a range of family law cases, including those involving domestic violence restraining orders and adoption, from initial client interview through final judgment. They are supervised in their activities by a clinical faculty member but have primary responsibility for their cases. For example, students draft all pleadings, negotiate with opposing counsel, and represent their clients in court proceedings. Students gain this experience while providing critical legal services to those who are unable to afford legal representation. The clinic is open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Persuasion and Advocacy.

NOTE: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

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This is a year-long course with students receiving 2 credits in the fall semester and 2 credits in the spring semester. Each Impact Litigation Clinic student works on a team that briefs and argues an appeal in federal court, or files amicus briefs in a federal appellate court or the Supreme Court of New Jersey, over the course of this year-long clinic. 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 immigration, 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. If a Second Circuit case does not settle, each team of students will argue its case before the Second Circuit. (Teams filing amicus briefs ordinarily help prepare for and attend oral argument, but the Supreme Court of New Jersey does not permit students to argue.) 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 all students who will have completed two-thirds of the credits required for graduation prior to the start of the clinic; weekend and evening students need to have considerable schedule flexibility, including the ability to attend the two weekly class sessions and to be able to schedule office hours overlapping with their teammate(s) and professor.

The course is letter-graded for both the clinical and class components. The course is generally appropriate for students who have a demonstrated high capacity for and interest in complex, sophisticated legal writing.

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

This is a year-long seminar course that accompanies the clinical portion of the course. Though the work is equal both semesters, or sometimes somewhat greater in the fall, students receive 0 credits in the fall semester and 1 credit in the spring semester for this seminar. The seminar portion of the course generally meets twice per week, for two hours. Most weeks, one of those sessions will be in a seminar format and one will be a working session in which the class may meet collectively, but will split up into the teams working on each case to consult with each other and with the clinical faculty member, to speak with clients, and to work on their cases.

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic represents people from all over the world who are in need of protection from persecution, trafficking and torture. In addition to representing clients before asylum officers and in Federal Immigration Court, students may also represent clients in appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeal, the Second and Third Circuits, or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Students may also be engaged in human rights reporting and fact-finding as well as comparative law and human rights projects. They also assist immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes in seeking visas to grant them legal status to remain in the United States. Another key aspect of the clinic is providing assistance to detained immigrants in the greater Newark area. The classroom component combines trial skills with substantive immigration law. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic represents people from all over the world who are in need of protection from persecution, trafficking and torture. In addition to representing clients before asylum officers and in Federal Immigration Court, students may also represent clients in appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeal, the Second and Third Circuits, or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Students may also be engaged in human rights reporting and fact-finding as well as comparative law and human rights projects. They also assist immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes in seeking visas to grant them legal status to remain in the United States. Another key aspect of the clinic is providing assistance to detained immigrants in the greater Newark area. The classroom component combines trial skills with substantive immigration law. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.

Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Equal Justice Clinic handles a variety of cases addressing civil and human rights with a primary focus on ensuring disadvantaged groups equal access to justice. Through impact litigation and direct service cases, the clinic addresses immigrants’ rights, prisoners’ rights, and ethnic and gender-based discrimination. Students work closely with clinical faculty, interviewing and consulting with clients, corresponding with experts, researching and writing pleadings, and engaging in factual investigations. Through simulations and other interactive exercises, the seminar portion of the clinic focuses on the development and refinement of essential lawyering skills in the areas of client interviewing, counseling, and persuasive writing, while exploring topical issues and themes related to equality and justice. The clinic requires an average of fifteen hours per week in addition to the two-hour seminar, six hours of which must be worked as “office hours” in the Center for Social Justice. Students, who work in teams, also participate in weekly case review meetings. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.



Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Equal Justice Clinic handles a variety of cases addressing civil and human rights with a primary focus on ensuring disadvantaged groups equal access to justice. Through impact litigation and direct service cases, the clinic addresses immigrants’ rights, prisoners’ rights, and ethnic and gender-based discrimination. Students work closely with clinical faculty, interviewing and consulting with clients, corresponding with experts, researching and writing pleadings, and engaging in factual investigations. Through simulations and other interactive exercises, the seminar portion of the clinic focuses on the development and refinement of essential lawyering skills in the areas of client interviewing, counseling, and persuasive writing, while exploring topical issues and themes related to equality and justice. The clinic requires an average of fifteen hours per week in addition to the two-hour seminar, six hours of which must be worked as “office hours” in the Center for Social Justice. Students, who work in teams, also participate in weekly case review meetings. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Prerequisites: Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA, Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy.



Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.</p>

 

The Health Justice Clinic will provide students with the opportunity to develop both litigation practice skills and transactional skills, along with an intensive understanding of various aspects of health law. Students may serve as counsel providing full representation to clients in housing cases including landlord-tenant actions and evictions, as well as housing discrimination, accessibility, and housing conditions cases. Students may provide representation from original interview through final judgment. Students may also serve as advisors to clients seeking to put in place advance directives such as health care proxies or instruction directives, documents which are designed to ensure that the client’s wishes are carried out. In addition, students may provide advice, brief service, and counsel to individuals without providing full representation.

Students are supervised in their activities by clinic faculty who are attorneys licensed to practice in New Jersey, but the students will 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. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA (2.33-2.60 with a waiver). Prerequisites: Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Persuasion and Advocacy.

NOTE: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The Health Justice Clinic will provide students with the opportunity to develop both litigation practice skills and transactional skills, along with an intensive understanding of various aspects of health law. Students may serve as counsel providing full representation to clients in housing cases including landlord-tenant actions and evictions, as well as housing discrimination, accessibility, and housing conditions cases. Students may provide representation from original interview through final judgment. Students may also serve as advisors to clients seeking to put in place advance directives such as health care proxies or instruction directives, documents which are designed to ensure that the client’s wishes are carried out. In addition, students may provide advice, brief service, and counsel to individuals without providing full representation.

Students are supervised in their activities by clinic faculty who are attorneys licensed to practice in New Jersey, but the students will 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. Clinics are open to all students who have completed 2/3 of the credits required for graduation.

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

Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA (2.33-2.60 with a waiver). Prerequisites: Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Persuasion and Advocacy.

NOTE: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA (2.33-2.60 with a waiver), Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy. Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.

 

The two hour one credit seminar meets weekly for strategy sessions about clinical projects and a skills curriculum focused on transferable lawyering skills, including client interviewing, crafting effective case theories, applying ethics in practice, legal writing, factual investigation, deposition skills, and client counseling. Through a combination of skills instruction, simulations, and exercises, the seminar addresses core lawyering skills while also exposing students to topical issues of social justice with an emphasis on criminal justice reform. During the seminar, students engage in regular “case rounds” requiring each to present current issues in their cases, anticipate problems, strategize solutions, and think through the potential consequences of lawyering choices. The experience aims to develop and refine students’ lawyering skills, but most importantly to provide students with a foundation of ethical and reflective lawyering that will foster continued self-directed learning as a lawyer.

Minimum Cumulative 2.60 GPA (2.33-2.60 with a waiver), Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Persuasion and Advocacy. Note: Students cannot participate in an externship in the same semester in which they are enrolled in a clinic.