Columbia’s rich array of clinics, taught by a dynamic group of full time faculty, put students in the role of attorneys, providing legal assistance to individuals, communities, and organizations that would not otherwise have access to high-quality representation. With the faculty’s close, individualized supervision and feedback, students take on primary responsibility for working with clients to understand their goals and develop a plan to achieve them. As students assume this professional role, they develop the lawyering skills and ethical judgment that will be critical in their legal careers.
Law School clinics are members of Morningside Heights Legal Services, Inc., a public interest law firm housed at Columbia Law School. Each clinic consists of fieldwork and a seminar. Under the supervision of faculty, staff attorneys, and fellows, clinic participants perform impact litigation, direct services representation, collaborative investigations, media campaigns, and grassroots advocacy.
Clinics are time-intensive. Students are expected to devote an average of 21 hours per week to their clinic work, which includes classroom and class preparation time.
Credits
- Each clinic awards 7 points of experiential credit which fulfills the ABA and Columbia Law School experiential learning requirement.
- Full-year clinics provide 7 credits in the fall and 5 credits in the spring.
- To learn whether a clinic offers a major or minor writing credit opportunity, read each clinic course description.
Clinics Offered in Spring 2023
- Community Advocacy Lab Clinic
- Criminal Defense Clinic
- Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic
- Family Defense Clinic
- Immigrants Rights Clinic
- Just Transition Clinic
- Lawyering in The Digital Age Clinic
- Mediation Clinic
- Science Health and Information Clinic
Spring 2023 Experiential Learning Information Session
Application Timeline for Spring 2023
- Open Enrollment: September 30, 2022 - October 25, 2022
- Application Deadline: October 25, 2022 at 5:00PM
- Acceptance Offers: November 4, 2022
- Acceptance Confirmation: November 7, 2022