Clinical Programs
At the UNC School of Law, clinical legal educational provides students the opportunity to learn legal theory and legal practice while providing much needed legal assistance to under-represented individuals and organizations. Students represent clients with a wide range of legal problems and handle litigation, transactional, and policy matters from beginning to end. The clinical offerings are sufficiently broad to allow students to work in a variety of legal areas and enhance a number of skills: civil rights, consumer, criminal defense, community development, domestic violence, housing, human rights, family, immigration, and policy work with legislators and NGOs [more about clinical programs...].
Recent Research & Reports
*UNC Immigration/Human Rights Policy Clinic Releases New Study That Finds Dramatic Problems with the 287(g) Immigration Program.
A federal law granting local police and sheriffs the power to act as immigration officials when faced with dangerous criminals or terrorists has instead created a climate of racial profiling and community insecurity, according to researchers at the UNC School of Law. A team of law students, led by Deborah Weissman, Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs at UNC School of Law, and Katherine Parker and Rebecca Headen, lawyers with the ACLU in North Carolina Legal Foundation, released a report on the 287(g) Program in North Carolina titled, "The Policies and Politics of Local Immigration Enforcement Law". The report found that the agencies most closely reviewed have failed to comply with contracts governing the program, and proposes solutions, including greater transparency and a functional system for complaints or appeals. To review this report, please click on the corresponding links below:
To find out how we get our cases, please select a clinic above.
For more information about the School of Law's clinical programs, contact Deborah Weissman, professor of law and director of clinical programs.
Registration For Externship and Clincal Programs for the 2009-2010 academic year has ended.
Testimonial for Juvenile Justice Clinic
"Without a doubt, being a part of the Criminal Clinic rates among the best experiences of my three years at Carolina Law. The opportunity to represent young men and women in Juvenile Court gave me the chance to apply and to broaden my newfound legal knowledge, all the while aided by the valuable support and tutelage of clinical staff and instructors. Each time I walked into court I felt assured that, no matter the outcome, my client would have an advocate who was prepared and able to speak up forcefully in his or her defense. I was fortunate enough to see some very positive resolutions in court, one culminating in a judge-initiated ovation in recognition of my client's efforts. For another client's case, success came in the form of preventing removal to a group home, a minor victory to some, but ever so important to my client. When things did not resolve so tidily I was still there by my client's side, explaining the impact of the judge's ruling and processing the ramifications with him or her. In the Clinic, the client's case does not end with pronouncement of the judicial decree: there are always post-hearing conferences, all of value, whether convened formally by an interdisciplinary team or informally by a client's grandmother. Being a party to these (and other) meetings gave me much perspective on the whole constellation of systems and personalities coming together when a juvenile's autonomy and well-being are at stake. Outside and inside of court, I always felt supported in my learning and in my advocacy - I highly recommend the Criminal Clinic to those looking to transition from the classroom into the profession, from individualized learning to community-directed service."
- Paul LaChance, Carolina Law Student