Office of Clinical and Experiential Learning (OCEL)

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Clinics

We offer a rich array of clinics, at New York Law School and at city government and not-for-profit law offices, in which students represent actual clients or work on other legal matters under the direct supervision of full-time faculty or attorneys. In all of these you will have the opportunity to work on actual legal issues.  In most you will be working, with the supervision and guidance of NYLS faculty or mentor attorneys, on actual cases or transactions on behalf of real clients.  You will prepare through extensive simulated practice sessions before meeting clients, interviewing witnesses or appearing in court. In many instances, you will have the chance to present some or all of your case in a court or an administrative proceeding. Your clients, in all probability, will be persons who would not otherwise be able to afford a lawyer. It‘s an opportunity to make a contribution to our collective efforts at achieving justice.

Here are three important links:

Apply for Clinics and other Experiential Learning Courses

Information on Clinic Courses

Special Note for Evening Students

 Here's what Dean Anthony Crowell wrote to the NYLS student body in the spring of 2013 about clinics:

Now more than ever, gaining meaningful practical experience while in law school is critical to ensuring you can be as well-prepared as possible to enter and compete in the job market, no matter what your goal.

That's why I'm writing to encourage you to register for one of our exciting clinical, externship, and project based learning opportunities designed to give you a uniquely New York legal experience.

As you know, when I became Dean, I made a commitment to work with my colleagues on the faculty to undertake a historic expansion of these programs. In keeping with that commitment, and to vastly expand your opportunities to gain valuable and marketable practical experiences in the areas in which you're most interested, NYLS is adding THIRTEEN NEW CLINICS to its course offerings for next year, beginning in August. Many of the offerings are open to 2Ls as well as 3L day students, and we have at least eight clinics open to evening students.

All of these offerings will help you develop essential legal skills and substantive knowledge, and allow you to put what you've learned into a broader context. They can also help you to master the very sorts of legal reasoning that are essential to the bar exam.

At the same time, participation in the great majority of these offerings will allow you to EARN CREDIT AND SATISFY your New York State 50-hour pro bono service requirement for admission to the Bar.

We look forward to welcoming you to a clinic!  

New York Law School Clinics

Clinics that are being offered for the first time in 2013-14 are marked with an asterisk (*).

In-House Clinics - in which a full time (or similar) faculty member both teaches the seminar component of the course and supervises or oversees all of the fieldwork:

• Criminal Defense Clinic
• Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic*
            click here to view informational video

• Securities Arbitration Clinic
            click here for website
• Transactional Law Clinic - Start-Ups and Non-Profits*
            click here to view informational video 

Hybrid Clinics – in which full-time faculty members teach the seminar component (or share the teaching with adjunct faculty co-teachers), while students’ fieldwork is directly supervised by adjunct faculty and/or mentor attorneys, with indirect supervision from full-time faculty:

• Clinical Year *
• Criminal Prosecution Clinic (Kings County)
• Criminal Prosecution Clinic (New York County)*
• Criminal Prosecution Clinic (Richmond County)
• Elder Law Clinic
• Mediation Clinic
• Municipal Litigation Defense Clinic and City Law Seminar *
• Tax Planning Clinic*
• Taxpayer Assistance Clinic*
• Wills Clinic 

Placement Clinics – in which adjunct faculty at the placement teach the seminar component, and fieldwork is directly supervised by the adjunct faculty and/or mentor attorneys from the placement:

• Administrative Enforcement Clinic (Taxi and Limousine Commission)*
            click here to view informational video
• Child Welfare Clinic (NYC Administration for Children's Services)*
• Domestic Violence Litigation Clinic (New York Legal Assistance Group)
• Immigration and Refugee Rights Clinic (Catholic Charities)
• Legislative Advocacy Clinic (New York Civil Liberties Union)*
• Suspension Representation Clinic (New York Civil Liberties Union)* 
            click here to view informational video

Project-Based Learning (PBL) Clinics - these clinics, which may be in-house, hybrid, or placement, typically have a more targeted focus than our other clinics and are offered for fewer credits. In some, students act as lawyers for clients; in others, they do research and writing on law reform and similar issues:

• Building a Disability Rights Information Center for Asia and the Pacific Clinic*
• Civil Justice through the Courts Clinic*
• Conservation Law and Policy Clinic
• Guardianship Project Clinic (not offered 2013-14)
• Immigration Law and Litigation Clinic
• Racial Justice Advocacy Clinic

Newsletter

• May 2013 Issue
• Archive

Videos

Clinic Student Testimonials

Administrative Enforcement Clinic

Post-Conviction Innocence Project

Suspension Representation Clinic

Transactional Law Clinic

Contact Information
Frank Bress
Director of Clinical Program
New York Law School
185 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013-2960
P: 212.431.2389
F: 212.324.7912
E: frank.bress@nyls.edu
 

Michelle T. Weller
Administrator of Clinical Program
New York Law School
185 West Broadway
New York, NY  10013-2960
P: 212.431.2313
F: 212.324.7912
E: michelle.weller@nyls.edu