Civil Advocacy Clinic
The Civil Advocacy Clinic (formerly the "Legal Clinic") is a one-semester, 4 -credit-hour course in which student interns provide direct legal representation, under the supervision of clinical faculty, to clients within the community who cannot afford to hire private legal counsel. The clinic combines a structured classroom curriculum with individualized instruction and collaborative learning opportunities to prepare interns to competently represent their clients, grapple with complex ethical issues, critically examine the law and the legal profession, and advance the social justice mission of the law school.
Current practice opportunities include civil rights, housing, immigration and asylum, family law, social security disability, real estate, contracts, tort defense, elder law, nonprofit community work, and sexual orientation law.
Student interns are responsible for all aspects of their clients' cases, including interviewing, counseling, research, discovery, negotiation, pleading and motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, court appearances, trial preparation and practice, and appeals.
Course Materials
- Core Course Requirements
- Grading Criteria
- Office Procedures
- Tips on Getting Started
- Guidelines for Initial Case Briefs
- Guidelines for Journals
Special Projects
The Safe School Project
The Safe School Project was initiated in 2007 to address the problem of bullying in
middle and secondary schools. Since then, students and clinical faculty have sponsored
seminars, published scholarly articles, presented at conferences around the country,
created an anti-bullying training curriculum for educators, conducted dozens of trainings
in Ohio and Michigan, developed a model anti-bullying policy for schools to adopt,
consulted with local schools and districts and represented local children who have
been impacted by bullying.
The Prisoner Reentry Project
The Prisoner Reentry Project is a community-based effort to ease the transition from
incarceration to freedom, thereby reducing the rates of recidivism. The project teams
up with local legal services agencies, social service groups, private organizations,
and public agencies to identify and eliminate barriers to successful reentry into
society. Clinic students and faculty make monthly visits to a local prison to work
with individual inmates who will soon be released. The project also works on collaborative
research on issues affecting successful reentry.
Questions?
Contact Professor Rob Salem at 419.530.4236 or robert.salem@utoledo.edu.