Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Clinics
General Information
- What is a Clinic? How is it different from Trial Advocacy or an Externship?
A clinic is a law school course in which students are trained by law school faculty, and then represent real clients and handle real case under faculty supervision. In Trial Advocacy the clients and cases are simulated. Many externships primarily involve research and writing; they less often involve working with real clients and cases. An externship supervisor's primary focus is necessarily case work, clinic faculty are paid to teach and work closely with students. - How will I be able to competently represent a "real" client or handle a real project?
During each clinic, students receive intensive training to prepare them to handle their cases and clients. Students are taught the law, procedure and practice skills necessary to succeed in their cases. Students practice skills in mock interviews, mediations, hearings and trials before they see their first client. - How do clients react to having law students do their legal work?
Most clients are very appreciative. Their clinic student interns may well be the only access the client has to legal representation. - Does taking a clinic satisfy my Public Service requirement?
Yes! Complete a clinic and your public service requirement has been fulfilled.
- If I take a clinic does that mean I can't do an externship?
Absolutely not! Clinic credits do not count against externship credits. Students can take a clinic (or two) and still do 15 credits of externship work.
- How are clinics graded?
The clinics are “graded” on a credit/no credit basis. When you are doing clinic legal work, just passing is not good enough. All students are expected to perform at a very high level. LL.M. Students in the Federal Tax Clinic receive a numerical grade.
Clinics and Academic Scheduling
Please see the How to Register and Schedule and Eligibility pages for more detailed information.
-
How big of a time commitment is a clinic?
Taking a clinic is a serious time commitment. Real people’s lives will be at
stake in the case you will be handling. Clinic credits are roughly based on a
ratio of 3 hours per week for each credit hour. E.g., In a 4 credit clinic you
would be expected to commit 12 hours of time including class time. - While in a clinic can I also work, be on law review, be in a second clinic, and/or have a life?
Some students have done all these things at once and been successful in a clinic. We don’t recommend a schedule like that. Combining a clinic with one other activity, law review or a second job is clearly doable. Many students do both. Bottom line, no matter what your schedule is, clinic client work must get first priority.
- May I take two clinics at once?
Generally, "no", but if openings are available you may enroll in the Street Law
Clinic while taking another clinic with the permission of the instructors.
- Can I take more than one clinic while in law school? What's the Bob Scales Record?
Yes, you may take more than one clinic. In fact students often take a second clinic to try out different practice areas while in law school. Bob Scales holds the record of four clinics, but we rarely have that many openings for students who have already taken a clinic.
- How do I deal with the fact that some required courses are only offered at times that conflict with a clinic I want?
The administration works very hard to minimize conflicts between clinic courses and required courses. To avoid conflicts most clinic classes are held in the late afternoon. If your desired clinic presents a schedule conflict, talk it over with your clinic faculty member, for many times there are ways to work around a conflict.
- Are there any clinics offered in the summer time?
No. During the summer clinic faculty oversee the cases, prepare their class for the next year and engage in research and writing. The clinics hire summer interns to help with the cases over the summer. We welcome applications. The pay is $15/hour/40 hours/week and work-study students are given preference.
- If a clinic runs for more than one quarter can I enroll for part of it? What if I'm a 3L graduating early?
All of our clinic courses run over more than one quarter, because the clinics' cases
or projects last longer than a quarter and we try to have students handle cases from beginning to end. General policy is that students must enroll in and complete all quarters of a clinic to receive clinic credit. 3Ls who have declared that they are graduating early are allowed to take a clinic for fewer than all quarters, but only on an overload basis with prior written permission of the clinic faculty supervisor.
CLINICS & COURSE PLANNING
- What are the educational advantages of taking a clinic as a 2L or as a 3L?
Either approach has advantages.
Taking a Clinic as a 2L.
After the “all
classroom” focus of the 1L year, some students find that taking a clinic as a 2L
is rejuvenating. Working on real matters helps remind students why they came to
law school, and helps them develop a focus for the remainder of their legal
education. In addition, students who find that experiential education really
suits them can often take a second clinic in their 3L year, or pursue an
advanced externship opportunity in the clinic subject matter. On the other hand
2L’s have less of a foundation of knowledge and skills to build on, and some
students find that more stressful than taking a clinic as a 3L. Keep in mind
that the Children and Youth Advocacy Clinic (CAYAC) and the
Entrepreneurial Law Clinic are currently open
only to 3L’s and have pre-requisite courses.
Taking a Clinic as a 3L.
An
alternative approach is to think of a clinic as a capstone opportunity that
builds on a foundation of substantive knowledge and skills development. During
your 2L year, take foundational courses such as professional responsibility and,
for a litigation-oriented clinic, evidence. In addition, take the required and
recommended
courses
for the clinic
you are interested in. Then you’ll arrive in your clinic well prepared to do
work that has real consequences.
- What is the effect of taking a clinic as a 2L
on my eligibility for another clinic as a 3L?
3Ls who have not previously taken
a clinic receive a preference for enrollment in a clinic.
- If I want to take a
clinic as a 3L, how should I best organize my 2L schedule?
Make sure that you:
- Take the
prerequisites
for any clinics
that interest you
- Take Professional Responsibility (or be prepared to enroll
in PR in the Clinical Context concurrently with your clinic, if it will be
offered.)
- Take a reasonable number of foundational “bar” courses, so that you
do not enter your 3rd year panicked about making room for them. (Note that some
of those courses will be recommended courses for the clinic, anyway.
- Take
one or more of our excellent array of simulation-based skills courses, such as
Interviewing and Counseling, Negotiations, and Trial Advocacy.
We recommend a
schedule that each quarter includes one or two foundational “podium” courses, a
skills course, and another course that will provide perspective on the legal
system (legal theory or legal history) or that addresses a topic of particular
interest to you.
- How should I plan my schedule for the quarters I am enrolled
in a clinic?
Clinic work requires you to interact with legal professionals –
court or agency personnel, opposing counsel, volunteer supervisors, etc. You
will find that easier to do if your courses are not scattered throughout the
day, and you have blocks of two to four hours available for clinic work. In
addition, students in several clinics must be available at specific times. For
instance:
Street Law Clinic students teach
classes at local public high school once a week. So they must be available for
the same two hour time block sometime between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. during both
winter and spring quarter.
T
ribal Court Public Defense Clinic students occasionally
need to be available to attend the Tulalip Tribal Court calendar on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays.
CLINIC AVAILABILITY
|
Year
|
Projected Clinic Slots (Spring)
|
Bidders for Clinic Slots
(Spring Lottery & Application
Process)
|
Actual Slots (Fall & Winter)
|
|
2008-09
|
104
|
187
|
118
|
|
2009-10
|
126
|
158
|
149
|
|
2010-11
|
138
|
206
|
158 (total enrolled = 139)
|
- How many students get
into a clinic, even if they don’t “win the lottery” (or the application
process)?
We don’t have precise numbers but the general answer is “lots”.
At least thirty students who ultimately enrolled in the clinics in ’10-11
were initially waitlisted, and others were offered slots but declined.
Applying to a Clinic
Please see the How to Register and Schedule and Eligibility pages for more detailed information.
- Are there pre-requisites for the clinics?
Some clinics do have pre- or co-requisites. These are shown on the Schedule.
The, Children and Youth Advocacy, Entrepreneurial, Federal Tax, Immigration and
Technology Law and Public Policy Clinics each have a course that is either a
pre- or co-requisite. Recommended courses for each
clinic are also suggested
- Will I be able to get into a clinic?
We have a large
clinical law program that can
accommodate most of the student demand, especially for students who do not limit
themselves to only one clinic. Students initially express their interest in a
clinic by means of the lottery/application process during the spring quarter
“planning packet process.” While not everyone is offered a clinic slot during
this process, students naturally change their minds about which clinic they want
to take, or when, as they learn more about their interests and receive other
opportunities. If you really want to be in a clinic you need to be proactive and
persistent. If you don’t get into a clinic initially (or don’t seek one and
realize your mistake!), make sure you are on the waiting list. Check with
Academic Services regularly to see where you are on the waitlist. Let the clinic
faculty member know you are still very interested. And at the beginning of the
term remind the faculty member of your interest. Show up for the first day of
class -- at that point, faculty supervisors are permitted to take anyone in the
room if there are openings. Some clinic openings are typically filled by
students who did not bid for a clinic during the planning packet process.
- How does the selection process work?
The selection process used by each clinic is indicated on the
Schedule and Eligibility Chart. Based on the needs of the clinic, the
process may be solely lottery, solely by application or a mixture of the two.
Where the clinic uses an application process, the selection criteria are
indicated [link to selection criteria page]. Don’t be intimidated by clinics
asking for an application. The applications are quite short and allow you to
explain your background and how this particular clinic will meet your goals.
When you complete the on-line Clinics Request Form, the registration screen will
prompt you to fill out an application if one is required.
- What do I have to do to sign up for a clinic?
Carefully read the pre-registration packet and follow the instructions. If an
application is required, read the selection criteria closely and be a good
advocate for yourself.
- When will I know if I got in and what will the next steps be?
You will know in early May whether you got into a clinic or not. Those selected
will then accept or decline the offer, and additional offers will be extended to
students on the wait list. In May and early June many of the clinics will hold
required meetings with selected and waitlist students to share further
information, answer questions and ensure that students understand how the clinic
works and will honor their commitment to enroll.