Course Description
How to discover peoples' needs, how to summon community's resources for meeting those needs, and how to determine what lawyers can do to insure community's services are functioning. Students are required to work with both service institutions and individuals who are clients of those institutions.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate law students will not be doing any extra work beyond
that required of the Juris Doctor students. J.D. students are
post-baccalaureate students and the workload expected of them
is the same workload expected of post-baccalaureate graduate
students. Law students are professional students, not
undergraduate students. Graduate law students are primarily
international lawyers seeking expertise in the American legal
system. This expertise is gained through exposure to Juris
Doctor courses.
Athena Title
Public Interest Practicum
Non-Traditional Format
Practicum.
Corequisite
JURI 5691S/7691S
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will understand how law can meet the needs of disadvantaged community members through the Public Interest Practicum. Students in this program work with homeless and other low-income individuals and local service institutions to coordinate resources and information on a variety of civil legal questions including housing, debt, public benefits, and family law.
Topical Outline
1. vulnerable populations: define, identify, needs 2. non-profit public interest organizations: mission, vision, services 3. service provision to meet basic needs of disadvantaged community members 4. Working with vulnerable populations: communication, intake, cultural competency 5. investing in social action for the community 6. educational outreach