Clinics, Internships and Co-curriculars
Advanced Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic
LEX 8606 Cr. 2
Prereq.: LEX 8604 Asylum and Immigration Law and consent of the instructor
In this clinic students will continue their work with the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic gaining increased experience in different settings and issues. Students may also organize and participate in community outreach projects.
Advanced Environmental Law Clinic
LEX 8610 Cr. 2
Prereq.: LEX 8611 Environmental Law Clinic must have been completed
Limitations: Student must be in good academic standing
The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic has no classroom component, although students may have the opportunity to present their work and experiences to the Environmental Law Clinic during the semester. Students will continue their work with the Environmental Law Clinic, gaining increased experience in different settings and issues. In all clinical work, the students will work with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and on some selected matters may be involved in formally representing other community organizations and public interest groups.
Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic
LEX 8604 Cr. 6
Co-Requisites/Prerequisites: LEX 6800 Professional Responsibility and the Legal Profession and LEX 7371 Immigration and Nationality Law or permission of instructor
The course in the classroom component of this clinic will teach students (1) the lawyering skills and values needed to effectively represent clients, and (2) the legal skills and knowledge needed to represent, in particular, clients seeking asylum or other immigration benefits, including in an Immigration Court hearing. The course will utilize a simulation of an asylum case throughout the semester to explore certain legal skills in depth. the course will also explore professional responsibility issues commonly faced by immigration attorneys. In the clinical component, students will represent individual clients on a variety of immigration matters including, but not limited to, asylum, withholding of removal, relief under the Convention Against Torture, U and T visas for victims of trafficking and other crimes, relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Temporary Protected Status, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Visas, as well as helping clients who obtain relief with family reunification, adjustment and eventually, naturalization. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Criminal Appellate Practice
LEX 8601 Cr. 3
Prereq.: LEX 7161 Criminal Procedure I, LEX 7166 Criminal Procedure II or LEX 7266 Evidence recommended
This class is open to students who have completed all first year course work and have a cummulative grade point average of 2.5.
Clinical legal writing experience. Students prepare briefs and other pleadings for indigent clients with pending felony appeals in cooperation with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office. Students meet with the instructor in individual sessions and class sessions to discuss writing, research and the appellate and correctional processes. Students have client contact and participate in simulated court argument. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Criminal Justice Internship
LEX 8504 Cr. 1-3
Prereq.: Consent of director of Clinical Education; second- or third-year student
Each student is assigned to an attorney on the staff of a state or federal prosecutor or public defender organization. Public defender placements include the Federal Defender's Office, the State Appellate Defender's Office, and the Washtenaw County Public Defender. Prosecutor placements include the Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Wayne, and Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney's offices; the criminal division of the Michigan Attorney General; the U.S. Attorney's office; and the criminal division of the City of Detroit's Law Department. Students perform extensive research and writing and participate in actual cases. Students work in the placement 8-15 hours per week during the fall or winter terms or 16-30 hours per week during the summer term and attend a contemporaneous class in the criminal justice process. Credits determined by director of Clinical Education. One-credit internships are available for the summer term only. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Disability Law Clinic
LEX 8641 Cr. 6
Prereq.: Consent of Assistant Director of Clinical Education; Student must be in good academic standing and have successfully completed all first-year required courses; Prereq. or coreq.: LEX 6800 Professional Responsibility. May not be taken for credit by those who have taken LEX 8621 Free Legal Aid Clinic.
A cooperative venture with Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, the Clinic gives students an intensive hands-on educational experience while helping individuals with disabilities and their families obtain the services and supports they need to avoid costly out-of-home placement at public expense. Students perform an average of 15 to 20 hours of fieldwork per week. Each student is responsible for 3 to 5 cases, from investigating the facts, researching the law, and counseling the client, to representing the client in administrative or judicial proceedings, drafting and arguing appeals, and engaging in settlement negotiations. Students participate in all aspects of the Clinic's operations, from intake, case acceptance, and individual client representation, to community education and law reform efforts. The Clinic includes a two-hour weekly seminar. The Clinic is one semester and is graded on an honors/pass/low pass/no credit basis. Credits earned in the Clinic count toward the 14-credit maximum students can earn in applied and skills courses. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Environmental Law Clinic
LEX 8611 Cr. 4
Prereq.: Students must have completed or concurrently be taking LEX 7006 Administrative Law and LEX 7231 Environmental Law or obtain advance consent of the instructor prior to enrollment. Open only to students who have completed all required first-year courses.
Limitations: Student must be in good academic standing.
The classroom component of this clinic will teach students the skills and strategies needed to affect environmental policy in all three branches of state and federal government. During classroom sessions, students will learn about current environmental policy challenges and opportunities and explore these issues from multiple perspectives. Guest speakers from government, public interest, and regulated industries will provide diverse views on environmental law and policy. In the clinical component, students will participate in the lawmaking process by preparing policy papers and formal legislative testimony, commenting on rulemaking and permit decisions, and engaging in judicial review and enforcement litigation. In all clinical work, the students will work with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and on some selected matters may be involved in formally representing other community organizations and public interest groups. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Government Agency Internship
LEX 8625 Cr. 1-3
Limitations: Grading will be Honors/No credit like LEX 6400
This course helps students learn about the practice of law, develop professional skills and judgment, and increase their knowledge in specialized areas of law through the supervised performance of legal work for government agencies. Meets the professional skills requirement.
LEX 8627 Cr. 1-3
Limitations: Grading scale is Honors/No credit like in LEX 6400
This course helps students learn about the practice of law, develop professional skills and judgment, and increase their knowledge in specialized areas of law through the supervised performance of legal work for in-house counsel of non-profit organizations. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Judicial Internship
LEX 8502 Cr. 1-3
Prereq.: Consent of Director of Clinical Education; second- or third-year student
Each student is assigned to a participating judge assisting in closely supervised research and writing and acquiring familiarity with the operation of the court. Students work in the placement 8-15 hours per week during the fall or winter terms or 16-30 hours per week during the summer term and attend a contemporaneous class in the judicial process. Credits determined by Director of Clinical Education. One-credit internships are available for the summer term only. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Public Interest Internship
LEX 8602 Cr. 1-3
Limitations: Grading scale is Honors/No credit like in LEX 6400
This course helps students learn about the practice of law, develop professional skills and judgment, and increase their knowledge in specialized areas of law through supervised performance of legal work for non-profit public interest law offices. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Small Business Enterprises and Nonprofit Corporations Clinic
LEX8631 Cr. 4
Prereq.: Open only to students who have completed all required first-year courses. Student must be in good standing or have a cumulative "C" (2.0) average. LEX 6800 Professional Responsibility and the Legal Profession and LEX 7156 Corporations are recommended.
The course component of this class will cover the basic provisions of nonprofit corporate law, tax law and legal ethics that affect community economic development groups. In the clinical component of the class, students assist a community group that is at or near the stage of incorporating itself and/or applying for tax-exempt status in services such as drafting and filing articles of incorporation, by laws and IRS forms. Grading will be on a credit/ no credit basis. Meets the professional skills requirement.
Student Academic Programs/Co-Curriculars
Moot Court
LEX 8711 Cr. 1 (2 req.)
Prereq.: Open only to Moot Court members
Members conduct the program which focuses on the preparation of briefs and hearings on oral arguments.
Student Trial Advocacy Program
LEX 8721 Cr. 1 (2 req.)
Prereq.: Open only to members
Members participate in skills training and intra school, regional and national trial advocacy competitions.
The Journal of Law in Society
LEX 8731 Cr. 1 (2 req.)
Members contribute to the publication of this law journal and the annual symposium.
Wayne Law Review
LEX 8701 Cr. 1 (2 req.)
Prereq.: Open only to Law Review members