FALL 2010-11 APPLICATION

CLINICAL PROGRAMS

Our outstanding clinical law programs offer students opportunities to learn about the real practice of law while providing essential services to a population that is largely underserved by the legal profession. Students also benefit from the instruction of faculty members who are themselves dedicated and experienced legal practitioners. For many, participation in a clinic is the turning point in their education, when they realize what it means to represent people who need their help.

Students are certified to practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03; a certification which allows them to represent clients without compensation in both civil and criminal cases. Clinics do more than teach students where to stand in a courtroom. They enable tomorrow’s legal professionals to acquire—and practice—the skills and knowledge they need to serve clients in a productive, responsible, and successful way.

All clinics meet the following eligibility, general requirements and deadlines described below.

ELIGIBILITY

• Only students who will be in their final year of law school are eligible for the Defenders and the Prosecutors Program.  Students who are finishing law school in December 2010 must confirm their eligibility with Lorraine Cove, Assistant Dean and Registrar, before applying for a criminal clinic.  Students in their last two years of law school are eligible for all other in-house clinics, the Battered Women’s Advocacy Project, and most Internships.  Third-year day students and fourth-year evening students will be given preference in admission if they have not yet taken a full-year clinical program.   

• Students must be in good academic standing both at the time of application and at the start of the clinic and must either have successfully completed or be concurrently enrolled in Evidence to participate.

• Participation in a clinic is subject to an employment conflict check.  This is reviewed at the time of application and at the start of the fall semester.  The seven in-house clinics function as a unitary law firm with seven practice areas. Because of this law firm model, students in an in-house clinic will not be able to engage in employment that may conflict with any of the in-house clinics. For example, no student in an in-house clinic may work at a district attorney's office because of the inherent conflict with Suffolk Defenders.

• Inquiries regarding eligibility for specific independent Internships for credit should be directed to Bernadette Feeley, Associate Clinical Professor, Civil and Judicial Legal Internship Program.  Professor Feeley’s office is located in Suite 165 (tel. 617/573-8049

GENERAL CLINIC REQUIREMENTS

1.         Admission to a clinic is through a lottery selection process, although individual clinics may give preference to students with relevant foreign language fluency or those who have completed other relevant courses.  In order to drop a clinic once a student has registered, the student must obtain the permission of the Clinical Professor teaching the clinic.  After add/drop ends, the names of enrolled students are submitted to the Dean's Office by the Clinical Programs Office to be certified for student practice under S.J.C. Rule 3:03. 

2.         Students must commit themselves to serve in the full-year clinics for both semesters; partial credit is not available for a student who withdraws after one semester.  A grade and credit are given at the end of the academic year.

3.         No student may be enrolled in more than one clinical program in any semester or receive more than 12 clinical credits (which includes credits for an internship) during his or her law school career.  A student with questions about this limitation, or who seeks to obtain a waiver, should write the Director of Clinical Programs.       

4.         Students should not take more than 15 total credits (an overload) during any semester in which they participate in a clinic.  The Deans’ Office will presumptively reject overload petitions of clinical students.

Please review the additional requirements applicable to specific clinics.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Applications are available for the fall semester are available prior to early registration sometime the end of February.  The spring application is due the end of October. Late applications are accepted but will not be part of the selection process until all applications submitted on time have been considered. Email and/or faxed applications are not accepted.  The selection process is done by lottery.  The results of are mailed prior to early registration. 

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