Clinic Courses
Please review the rules and regulations below the
clinic course descriptions. Information regarding student practice as a legal
intern pursuant to Admission to Practice Rule 9 can be found at the Washington
State Bar Association Web site.
Courses
Administrative Law Clinic
(3 credits) ADMN-400 (Spring)
Students will represent clients in administrative hearings before Washington
State Administrative Law Judges. Student teams must maintain office hours in
the Clinic offices two days a week for a total of four hours a week on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, or Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The days and times for office
hours will be determined based on each student team’s schedule. Students
will be required to attend a clinic class one day per week. This course must
be taken pass/fail.
Pre or Co-requisite: Administrative Law
Arts Legal Clinic (1
credit) INTP-401 (Offered each semester)
This course is a collaboration between the Law School and Washington Lawyers
for the Arts, a non-profit organization. Students in the clinic will work with
two experienced intellectual property attorneys who serve as adjunct faculty.
On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, students will participate with
the adjunct faculty in interviewing and advising artists and others seeking
legal assistance regarding intellectual property issues. On the remaining Monday(s)
of each month, the faculty will engage the students in a variety of lawyering
skills activities, including discussions of interviews from the prior week,
simulated skills exercises drawing on current developments in intellectual property
law, and activities devoted to ethics and professionalism. This course must
be taken pass/fail. This course does not fulfill the professional skills
requirement for graduation.
Prerequisites: Intellectual Property and at least one of the
following: Copyright Law, Trademark Law, IP Licensing, or Business Entities
Bankruptcy Clinic
(1 credit) BANK-400 (Fall)
Students in this clinic will work with an experienced bankruptcy attorney supervisor
and will interview and represent two to three clients who are seeking relief
from their debts. Students must participate in a half-day orientation at the
bankruptcy court. This orientation is usually held on a Friday morning during
the first month of the semester. Students will also be required to attend Clinic
classes one day a week and to meet regularly with their attorney supervisor
at his or her office. Students will also have the opportunity to participate
in an evening debt clinic run by local practitioners. Questions about this clinic
should be addressed to Adjunct Professor Cynthia A. Kuno at ckuno@crockerkuno.com.
This course must be taken pass/fail.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: Bankruptcy Law
Capital Appeals Clinic
In this course, students will work on appellate briefs in capital cases from
the state of Louisiana. Through their work, students will gain experience with
legal writing and research while also taking part in designing strategy for
cases raising cutting-edge issues regarding the death penalty, race, and the
criminal justice system. The course will include a seminar component which will
meet once a week. Students will be expected to meet regularly (outside of class
time) with their faculty supervisor to discuss their casework.
Prerequisite: Legal Writing II
Corequisite: Capital Punishment Seminar
Community Development and Entrepreneurship
Clinic (4 credits) BUSN-400 (Fall and Winter)
Law students will be teamed with Management students from the Albers School
of Business to assist local residents with new and existing business ventures.
Clients will be referred to the Clinic by area microlenders. Interdisciplinary
student teams will work with law and business faculty and also volunteer mentors
from the legal and business communities. Students will need to be available
outside of class time for meetings with clients, partners, supervising faculty
and others involved in the projects. Class sessions will emphasize principles,
skills and values in forming a company from both business and legal perspectives,
and will provide an opportunity to pinpoint and discuss significant issues or
themes arising in the course of the client representation. The Clinic will run
10 weeks in the fall and 10 weeks in the winter, consistent with the University’s
(i.e., not the Law School’s) standard Academic Calendar.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: Business Entities
Family Law Clinic (6
credits) FAML-401 (Fall)
The Family Law Clinic is a six-credit clinical course whose goal is to provide
students with the skills and knowledge to practice family law in Washington.
- The classroom component will familiarize students with Washington
family law practice and also provide a general understanding of the procedure
of civil litigation in state superior courts. Topics covered will include:
dissolution of marriage, child custody, third party custody, child support,
spousal maintenance, property division, preparation of pleadings and documents,
the dynamics of domestic violence and cultural differences.
- The practice component will provide students with the opportunity
to represent two or three low-income family law clients. Clients may be victims
of domestic violence or non-English speaking individuals. Students work in
teams of two on the cases so that the responsibility can be shared and they
can have the experience of collaboration with another practitioner. The cases
will not likely involve family law trials but will include motions practice,
entry of final decrees before family law court commissioners, and negotiated
settlements.
- Course Expectations and Structure: The class will meet twice a
week in a seminar format. The seminar will be taught through lecture, discussion
and simulation exercises. Students will be expected to keep 9 hours
of regularly-scheduled Office Hours each week. During these hours,
students will be expected to work in the Clinic (e.g., meeting with their
partners, supervising faculty, or clients, preparing documents, doing research,
etc.). Given the responsibilities of representing clients, students should
expect to spend an additional 10 to 12 hours per week on their cases. Students
must have sufficient flexibility to attend court hearings two or three times
during the semester. These hearings may involve a half-day time commitment
and are scheduled well in advance. Students are also required to sit in on
a variety of motions calendars at one of the two King County Superior Courts
(downtown Seattle or the Regional Justice Center in Kent); however, students
can schedule these visits whenever it is convenient.
Students must be eligible for admission to limited practice under Rule
9.
Pre or Co-requisites: Professional Responsibility and one of
the following: Family Law, Family Formation, or Family Dissolution
Immigration Law Clinic
(3 credits) IMMG-400 (Spring)
Students enrolled in the Immigration Clinic will provide legal representation
to clients in immigration proceedings. Students will get involved at various
stages of these proceedings, which may include proceedings before Immigration
Officers, Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals or Circuit Courts
of Appeals. The primary responsibilities would include: interviewing clients
in immigration custody, investigating facts, conducting legal research, preparing
memoranda, motions and legal briefs, and conducting oral argument. The typical
advocacy involves disputing the legal grounds for inadmissibility and/ or deportability,
and seeking relief from deportation in the form of adjustment of status, cancellation
of removal, asylum from persecution (because of race, religion, nationality,
political opinion or social group), and deferral of removal under the United
Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT).
International Human
Rights Clinic (4 credits) INTL-402 (Offered each semester)
The International Human Rights Clinic offers students the opportunity to work
with foreign and domestic clients before international and regional human rights
bodies. Students will also collaborate with human rights organizations on research
and advocacy projects. In addition, there may be opportunities to work on cases
filed in U.S. courts under state, federal, and international law. Class will
meet 1 day per week for 2 hours. Students will be required to keep 8 hours (total)
of office hours in the Clinic spanning 3 different weekdays. The International
Human Rights Clinic is a graded course; it may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: International Human Rights,
Public International Law, or Rights of Women: Intl. and Comparative Law
Mediation Clinic (3
Credits) ALDR-410 (Fall)
The Mediation Clinic offers students the opportunity to delve deeply into the
theory and practice of mediation by serving as co-mediator in employment discrimination
cases. The class will be comprised of a classroom component and a casework component.
In the classroom component, students will explore and develop the skills necessary
to serve as mediators and will participate in a series of mock mediation sessions.
In the casework component, students will observe, prepare for and co-mediate
(with faculty support) actual employment discrimination cases. Students will
also be required to engage in on-going debriefing sessions, to keep a journal
of their observations and experiences and to submit their journal to the instructor.
The EEOC schedules its mediations for an 8-hour period. Any particular mediation
may take less or more than this.
Prerequisites: In order to be eligible to enroll in this course,
a student must have:
- Taken the Mediation course (also called Problem Solving II); or
- Completed (or commit to completing before the start of the fall semester)
a 40-hour Basic Mediation Training offered by an approved organization; or
- Had sufficient experience/training as a mediator (as decided by the Mediation
Clinic instructor in advance of registration).
Not for Profit Organization
Clinic (2 credits ) TAXL-400 (Spring)
Students in this Clinic will have the opportunity to put their interest in and
knowledge of business and tax law into practice. Working in teams of two, students
will work with individuals and community groups interested in creating a non-profit
organization. Students will counsel their clients on the most appropriate entity
for their purposes and prepare and file the documents necessary to create the
organization, such as articles of incorporation, bylaws and state and federal
tax documents. Students will also advise their clients about the various state
laws and regulations with which the clients will need to comply. Students will
receive the additional knowledge and skills necessary to do this legal representation
in a classroom component. Beginning the third week of the semester, students
must also maintain office hours in the Clinic offices twice a week for two hours
each session. Office hours will be established based on the schedules of each
student team. This course must be taken pass/fail.
Prerequisite: Individual Income Tax and Taxation of Charitable
Organizations
Predatory Lending
Clinic (Civil Practice Clinic) (6 credits) ADVC-410 (Year long - 3
credits each semester)
The Predatory Lending Clinic is a year-long 6 credit course which will focus
on consumer protection and civil litigation. Students will represent clients
in predatory lending matters relating to home mortgages, debt collection practices,
and other unfair lending practices. Students will have the chance to engage
in the entire range of civil practice on behalf of their clients: factual investigation,
pleading and discovery, counseling, negotiation, pretrial or settlement conferences,
and trial. Students will also engage in community projects, educating laypersons
on topics such as debt collection, mortgage lending laws, payday loans, refund
anticipation loans, check cashing institutions, and other forms of alternative
financial services. In addition, students will engage in legislative analysis
and reform, with the possibility of presenting positions before the Washington
State legislature. Finally, this year, enrolled students will have the option
of traveling to New Orleans with the professor to perform legal work related
to housing, lending, or debt and credit on behalf of individuals displaced by
Hurricane Katrina and the broken levees. Students will travel at their own expense,
yet we will work to make the travel and accommodations as cost-effective as
possible. (Time frame TBD, but will occur during either winter or spring break).
If you enroll, you must attend the classroom component (which will be 75 minutes
twice per week) and maintain office hours in the Law Clinic. As you will be
conducting pre-trial motions and discovery and trials under supervision, you
must be Rule 9 eligible.
Pre- or co-requisites: Professional Responsibility and Comprehensive
Pretrial Advocacy. Students must complete both semesters in order to be awarded
any credit. Maximum enrollment 8.
Professional Responsibility
Clinic (1 credit) PROF-400 (Not offered in 2006-07)
This clinical course is a joint effort between the law school and the Washington
Bar Association Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Future opportunities for volunteer
service to the Bar Association and for entry into the limited group of lawyers
who represent the Bar Association disciplinary cases will be enhanced. Students
will work on actual ethics complaints filed with the Washington State Bar Association.
Students will be required to attend a once-a-week seminar reviewing the procedural
law of discipline in Washington and will be assigned in teams of two to examine
a complaint for probable cause. Each team will be required to prepare a memorandum
that includes: Identification of RPCs which might be involved; Research of Case
Law/Ethics Opinions, etc., interpreting the legal requirement for each RPC;
Preparation of an opinion recommending either conditional dismissal or a finding
of probable cause; Written analysis of how the complaint (whether founded or
not) could have been avoided; and, Presentation of the substantive and procedural
ethics issues to the seminar. Contact Professor John Strait at straitj@seattleu.edu
or (206) 398-4027 to confirm registration. This course must be taken pass/fail.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: Professional Responsibility
Trusts and Estates/Indian
Trusts and Estates Clinic (3 credits) ESTA-400 (Fall)
Students will represent a low-income elderly or disabled person in an estate
planning matter, including preparation of wills, powers of attorney and health
care directives. Student teams must maintain office hours in the Clinic offices
for a total of four hours per week. Office hours must be scheduled on Tuesday,
Wednesday, or Thursday between 1 and 8 p.m. This clinic is available as an evening
clinic. This course must be taken pass/fail.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: Trusts and Estates
Youth Advocacy Clinic
(6 credits) ADVC-310 (Offered each semester)
Working with attorneys from The Defender Association (a King County public defense
law firm) and under the supervision of Clinic faculty, students will engage
in various forms of advocacy including: (1)the representation of youth accused
as juvenile or status offenders; (2) representation of youth seeking Special
Immigrant Juvenile Status; (3) direct representation and policy-based advocacy
related to the detention and/or shackling of children in truancy, criminal and/or
dependency cases and the denial of the right to counsel to children and/or adults
in a variety of criminal justice settings. The trial skills component of the
Clinic includes a day-long Trial Skills Workshop (on a Friday) and a day-long
Mock Motion Hearing before an actual judge (on a Saturday). Interested students
can learn the dates of these mandatory sessions by contacting the Clinic faculty
or Office Manager.
Prerequisite: Evidence. Co-requisite: Professional
Responsibility. Must be Rule 9 eligible. Students completing the Civil Advocacy
focus area must take Comprehensive Pretrial Advocacy before taking the Youth
Advocacy Clinic. Two of the six credits awarded for this course are graded.
The other four are pass/fail.
Externships
Externships are law-related placements outside the law school, where students
do legal work in law offices, agencies or courts and receive academic credit.
Externships students are closely mentored by an on-site supervising attorney
or judge. In addition, students must participate in a seminar conducted by the
Externship Director. For more information, please see the Externship
Web site or contact Danielle Armstrong at (206) 398-4128 or armstrod@seattleu.edu
or Professor Susan McClellan at (206) 398-4010 or susanmcc@seattleu.edu.
Rules and Regulations
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Students may not take more than one Clinic in a semester. Also, Students
may not take an Externship and a Clinic course in the same semester. Students
are welcome to sign onto any number of wait lists, but can be registered
in only one Clinic or Externship.
-
Students may not take more than 15 credits of clinics and externships combined.
Unless students take a full-time externship (15 credits), they may not take
more than 8 externship credits. Students may take more than 8 credits in
clinical courses, provided they do not exceed the 15 credit clinic-externship
limit.
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Students in the Family Law, Predatory Lending and Youth Advocacy Clinics
must obtain a limited license to engage in the practice of law pursuant
to Rule 9 of the Washington Admission to Practice Rules. To obtain such
a license, a student must be in good standing and have completed, by the
end of the semester or summer session before the course, 60 credit hours
of study (full-time students), or 56 credit hours of study (part-time students).
Conflicts of Interest
As a functioning law office, the Law Clinic must comply with all rules governing
conflicts of interest. Because the Law Clinic is a single entity, any student
enrolling in any clinic course (except Arts Legal and Bankruptcy) must be screened
for conflicts with respect to any of the Clinic’s work. Thus, no student
can enroll in any clinical course while also working (in any capacity, for pay
or not) for an organization which is adverse to any of the clinic’s clients.
For example, students may not work for a prosecutor’s office while enrolled
in any clinic course because the Youth Advocacy Clinic collaborates with The
Defender Association as defense counsel on cases. Students interested in taking
any clinic course are encouraged to consult with clinic faculty to be sure that
their employment or other activities will not present any conflicts of interest.
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