4.2.3.3.1) Should I take a clinical? [Rev] (King Hall Law School)
Description
This article is from the King Hall Law School FAQ, by David F. Prenatt, Jr. NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us with numerous contributions by others.
4.2.3.3.1) Should I take a clinical? [Rev] (King Hall Law School)
Yes. It is an opportunity that few attorneys have for obtaining
practical lawyering skills, but a clinical should not be used as a
substitute for other more challenging law school courses. I took the
Civil Rights Clinical, conducted by supervising attorneys Carter
"Cappy" White (<mailto:ccwhite@ucdavis.edu >) and Professor Margaret
Johns (<mailto:mzjohns@ucdavis.edu >). [Note: Cappy left King Hall
at the end of the Fall 1995 semester, and I am not personally
acquainted with his replacement.] As a Certified Student Attorney, I
represented pro se plaintiffs who had filed meritorious Section 1983
Civil Rights claims with the Eastern District Federal Court in
Sacramento and were assigned to the King Hall Civil Rights Clinic sua
sponte (the expertise of Certified Student Attorneys helps unclog the
court's calendar, which is overrun by the numerous plaintiffs who
appear in propria persona because they cannot afford an attorney).
I strongly recommend the Civil Rights Clinical for any law
student who is interested in any type of civil litigation. Litigation
is litigation is litigation, and the clinical puts its participants
through the paces of every stage of a typical lawsuit. I like to
think of it as "Applied Civil Procedure." Like all clinicals at King
Hall, the Civil Rights Clinical requires students to be in good
academic standing and become a Certified Student Attorney by applying
to the court before which they wish to practice (e.g., the Eastern
District Federal Court in Sacramento. This means that you must have
at least a 2.0 GPA and complete courses in Civil Procedure and
Evidence (concurrent enrollment in Evidence is permitted). Students
can enroll for upwards of two to six units of clinical credit, graded
on a Pass/No Pass basis, but the total number of students who can
enroll is limited, so sign up early.
In addition to the general requirements of other clinicals, the
Civil Rights Clinical requires students to complete a three unit
substantive course in Civil Rights (graded) and a two unit Skills
Seminar (Pass/No Pass), both of which are taught by Professor Johns,
although the substantive course was taught by an adjunct during the
Fall 1995 Semester. [Note: Most clinicals have specific academic
prerequisites. See the law school class information bulletin for more
information]. Many students take the substantive Civil Rights course
without taking the Civil Rights Clinical, but the Skills Seminar is an
integral part of the Civil Rights Clinical. All Certified Student
Attorneys in the Civil Rights Clinical must also attend a weekly one
hour meeting, much like an office meeting at a law firm.
4.2.3.3.2) What clinicals are available at King Hall?
King Hall sponsors legal clinicals for virtually every field of the
law. For more information on how to sign up for a clinical in a field
of law that interests you, contact Clinical Director Betsy Stewart
(<mailto:ejstewart@ucdavis.edu >) at (916)752-6564.
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