Students enrolled in the clinic, under clinical director supervision, take on all major aspects of representing a client before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), including interviewing clients, preparing forms, analyzing and arguing complex legal issues, and attending USCIS applicant interviews. The Clinic also has a classroom component in which students learn the basics of immigration, citizenship, and laws protecting immigrant victims of human trafficking and family violence.
Students enrolled in the BREN Clinic will take on all major aspects of representing a client’s special education interests under externship director supervision including conducting client interviews, analyzing complex legal issues and applicable evidence, and providing written and oral advocacy services at Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings, settlement and ADR conferences, and due process hearings. The Clinic also has a classroom component in which students will learn how to use the legal tools contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to advocate for individual remedies.
Externships
Students also gain credit for legal work done under supervision with governmental and private employers. Students have unprecedented access to positions with the judiciary, in criminal justice settings, and with private practitioners in all areas of the law because of the Law School’s singular presence in the Central Valley.
More than 85 percent of students at SJCL take advantage of internship programs, including some who start as early as their first year. In addition to enhancing the students’ understanding of the mechanics of the actual practice of law, many of these internships subsequently evolve into full-time attorney positions after the students pass the Bar.
There is no institution comparable to SJCL within a 120 mile radius, meaning there is little competition from other law schools for internship positions in the Valley’s District Attorneys’ Offices, the Public Defenders’ Offices, and among the ranks of countless private practice attorneys in dozens of specialty areas.
“Working at the Fifth District Court of Appeal allowed me to not only develop my research and writing skills, but also gave me significant practical experience.”
– Julie MacMichael
“Working in Judge Ishii’schambers has been an invaluable experience, made possible by SJCL’s ties to the legal community.”
– Charles Palmer and Angelica Ambrose
“My internship at the Fresno City Attorney’soffice gave me valuable experience and gave me insight to legal issues unique to public entities.”
– George Vasquez
Thank You to these organizations for providing externships to its' students.
- Baradat and Paboojian, Inc.
- Better Business Bureau of Central California
- Caine Law Firm
- Central California Legal Services
- Children's Hospital of Central California
- Cornwell & Sample, LLP
- Cuttone and Associates
- Dias Law Firm
- Family Law Facilitator's Office
- Fletcher & Fogderude, Inc.
- Fresno Child Advocates
- Goldberg Law Firm
- Hammerschmidt, Broughton Law Corp.
- Hernandez Law Offices
- Immigration Law Offices of Phillip Kim
- Johnson & Beck Law Office
- Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg, LLP
- Kevin G. Little, Attorney at Law
- Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi LLP
- Law Offices of Brian C. Leighton
- Law Offices of Carl L. Brown
- Law Offices of Cynthia Van Doren
- Law Offices of David Hollinsworth
- Law Offices of E. Marshall Hodgkins
- Law Offices of Kevin Piekut
- Law Offices of David R. Mugridge
- Law Offices of Frank M. Nunes, Inc.
- Law Offices of G. Cole Casey
- Law Offices of Gregory W. Fox
- Law Offices of James H. Peloian
- Law Offices of Joan Jacobs Levie
- Law Offices of Lazaro Salazar
- Law Offices of M. Nelson Enmark
- Law Offices of Melissa A. Proudian
- Law Offices of Michael P. Mallery
- Law Offices of Rick D. Banks
- Law Offices of Raquel Birch
- Law Offices of Ryam M. Janisse
- Law Offices of Sam Salhab
- Law Offices of Tina M. Barberi
- Madera Law Center
- Madera County District Attorney's Office
- Marjoree Mason Center
- Merced County District Attorney's Office
- Merced County, Child Support Office
- Morse, Morse & Morse Law Corp.
- Nuttall & Coleman
- Office of the District Attorney, Fresno
- Office of the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of California
- Parker, Kern Nard & Wenzel
- Pascuzzi & Stoker
- Perez, Williams, Medina & Rodriguez
- Perkins, Mann and Everett
- Powell and Pool, LLP
- Public Defender's Office, Fresno
- Purvis and Elder, LLP
- Revvill Law Group
- Sawl Law Group
- State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
- Tucker, Chiu, Hebesha & Ward, PC
- Tulare County District Attorney's Office
- Tulare County Public Defender's Office
- Tulare County Superior Court, Family Law
- Tuttle & McCloskey, Attorneys at Law
- United States District Court, Eastern District of California
- Wagner & Jones, LLP
- Webb & Bordson
- Yarra, Kharazi & Associates
Academic Enrichment
Appellate Advocacy & Moot Court
Appellate Advocacy supplements Moot Court and is a separate, 2-unit required course that focuses on appellate-level legal writing. Appellate Advocacy/Moot Court is a two-semester requirement for all students.
The spring Moot Court course requires students to orally argue the topic assigned during their Appellate Advocacy course in the fall in an intramural competition. These arguments are judged by local judges, attorneys, faculty, and alumni.
SJCL participates in statewide and national Moot Court competitions and has distinguished itself among teams from top ABA institutions. Those who go on to these competitions receive additional coaching from the Moot Court professors and experts in the community.
Teaching and Research Assistantships
Students may be invited by faculty to act as teaching or research assistants. Teaching assistants may be asked to help the professor prepare for class, help evaluate student work or conduct supplemental class sessions, small sections, etc. as directed by the professor. Research assistants typically will pursue research on a particular topic or subject matter as directed by the professor and report, in writing, in a format requested by the professor. Students can earn elective units for teaching or research assistantships. Students who qualify for federal financial aid may alternatively receive hourly compensation for their work through federal work- study. Teaching or research assistant positions DO NOT qualify as clinical experience and may not be used to satisfy any required clinical units.
Study Abroad
SJCL does not sponsor a study abroad program, but students can request approval for credit in a program offered through another institution. Contact the Dean of Students several months in advance to submit a request for approval to the SJCL Faculty Committee. Students can receive elective credit on a pass/fail basis for approved study abroad programs. Students seeking financial aid to cover tuition costs must contact the Director of Financial Aid at least two months in advance of the start of any study abroad program.