LEGAL CLINICS

Transcription

1 LEGAL CLINICS

2 A HEAD FOR LAW, A HAND FOR OTHERS SLU LAW students are given many unique opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether prosecuting or defending criminal cases, serving as clerks for judges, handling transactional matters for nonprofits, small businesses or major corporations or assisting the homeless and the elderly, the SLU LAW Legal Clinics offer upper division students invaluable practical experience while providing valuable legal services to the community. OUR MISSION SLU LAW students also have the advantage of receiving their legal training in St. Louis a thriving hub of legal and governmental activity. The School of Law s proximity to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, federal district courts in the Eastern District of Missouri and Southern District of Illinois, plus the Missouri and Illinois state courts, allows for numerous opportunities to experience the law in action. The mission of the Legal Clinics is to offer each Clinic student a bridge from the knowledge and principles instilled in the classroom to the effective, ethical and conscientious practice of law. Dedicated to the University s Jesuit mission of advocating for the disadvantaged and the betterment of the community at large, the Legal Clinics provide unique and challenging opportunities in a supportive experiential learning environment for every student who desires a clinical experience. REAL CLIENTS, REAL SOLUTIONS CHILD ADVOCACY CLINIC Students provide holistic advocacy from pretrial to trial and appeal in delinquency and municipal matters; from individual education planning to due process litigation in special education matters; and in all aspects of general civil matters in children s health advocacy. COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CLINIC Students serve as the primary counsel to clients on matters including business and nonprofit structuring and formation, internal operational issues, contract drafting and review, loan document review, employee management issues, regulatory compliance issues and real estate matters. Each semester, students provide significant legal assistance to Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, assisting with various operational issues and helping Habitat provide environmentally responsible homes to first-time homebuyers. YOUR LIFE IN THE LAW BEGINS HERE BRENDAN ROEDIGER Criminal Defense Clinic Students represent clients charged with misdemeanor criminal offenses. Students handle cases in the 22nd Judicial Circuit, interviewing and representing the working poor who don t meet public defender guidelines. Students are active in all aspects of representation, including obtaining records, negotiating plea deals, taking depositions and preparing for trials. Students also intern at various public defender offices in the greater St. Louis area, including Madison County and St. Clair County Public Defender Offices in Illinois, as well as the Office of the Federal Public Defender in St. Louis. Elder Law Clinic The Elder Law Clinic annually assists nearly 150 elderly clients who often are indigent and impaired by mental and physical disabilities with a wide range of legal matters. Students serve older clients and their family members with adult guardianships. Students interview clients, prepare pleadings and request medical reports. They also assist clients with estate planning documents by CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

3 CLINICAL EXPERIENCES APPELLATE ADVOCACY CHILDREN S ADVOCACY CIVIL RIGHTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONSUMER RIGHTS CRIMINAL DEFENSE ELDER LAW ESTATE PLANNING HOMELESS VETERANS ADVOCACY JUVENILE LAW LANDLORD-TENANT LAW MEDIATION SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE interviewing clients and then preparing powers of attorney, wills, living wills and beneficiary deeds. Litigation Clinic Students handle a variety of lawsuits in state and federal court including civil rights, consumer protection, real estate fraud and landlord-tenant. Students have the opportunity to litigate some cases themselves, with a faculty member as second chair, and also participate in large class actions and other complex litigation with lawyers from larger firms and legal services offices. The Clinic is presently engaged in litigation under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and under Missouri s new foreclosure rescue fraud legislation. Appellate Experience Clinic students argue cases in the Missouri Court of Appeals under a program in which students represent claimants in unemployment compensation cases. The cases provide an opportunity for students to meet with clients, write appellate briefs and argue before the Missouri Court of Appeals. Students also argue appeals of adjudications in juvenile cases throughout the state. Judicial Externship Clinic In the Judicial Externship Clinic, students are placed with judges in state and federal trial and appellate courts where they work as part-time clerks. Depending on the chambers, students engage in extensive legal research, draft a series of legal memoranda relevant to the case under submission by the courts, as well as observe hearings, trials and other court proceedings from the unique perspective of the judge and his or her chambers. In the spring semester, students also have the opportunity to work at the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District. During the summer, students can extern with a Missouri Supreme Court judge. Externship Clinic Each semester, students receive the benefit of working with practicing lawyers in the legal field of their interest while under the supervision of a SLU LAW full-time faculty member. Clinic students interested in health law may be placed at: Ascension HEALTH BJC HEALTH SYSTEM HOSPITAL SISTERS HEALTH SYSTEM LOGAN COLLEGE OF CHIROPRACTIC LUTHERAN SENIOR SERVICES Mercy SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SSM HEALTH CARE ST. LOUIS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Clinic students interested in trial work and criminal law are placed at: STATE PROSECUTORS OFFICES IN ILLINOIS state prosecutors offices in St. Louis City state prosecutors offices in St. Louis County United States Attorneys Offices in Illinois United States Attorneys Offices in Missouri Civil litigation or public interest opportunities include externships at: ACLU LEGAL SERVICES (ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI) St. Louis City Counselor s Offices St. Louis County Counselor s Offices EEOC Attorney General s Office Students interested in tax or transactional work have the unique opportunity to work with: IRS IRS Office of AppealS SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL Students can also work in these special externship programs: CATHOLIC IMMIGRATION LAW PROJECT (CILP) Students handle a wide range of legal matters, including citizenship and asylum applications for CILP, as part of the Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry. Advocates represent clients with a variety of immigration and citizenship needs and supervise students who work on these cases. CATHOLIC LEGAL ASSISTANCE MINISTRY (CLAM) Students interested in family law have the opportunity to work with attorneys from CLAM, a project of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Housed in space provided by the law school, students represent abused women in custody and support matters and serve as guardians ad litem for abused and neglected children. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE With each case, my confidence grew. The hands-on experience really prepares you to be a competent attorney. The clinic professors trust their students and repeatedly tell us You can do this. And we start to believe them because we see our success with each case. SARAH SCHWEITZER ( 09) ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER, MISSOURI PUBLIC DEFENDER S OFFICE

4 CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Saint Louis Zoo Partnership The world-renowned Saint Louis Zoo is a leader in animal conservation and management as well as a significant presence in the St. Louis community. Students are introduced to the inside workings of a major nonprofit organization, gaining practical experience in the areas of employment law, taxation, nonprofit law and animal regulation by working with the director of human resources, a SLU LAW alum. CLINICS IN ACTION AID TO JOPLIN Students spent their 2012 spring break in Joplin, Mo., on the School of Law s third trip to the city since it was devastated by a tornado in May Students interviewed families about their legal needs, helped clean a farm field of storm debris and worked with Joplin High School students to prepare them for a national competition on the U.S. Constitution. FORECLOSURE MEDIATION Students from the Legal Clinics are representing families facing foreclosure in a unique foreclosure mediation program in Madison County, Ill. Several times a month, students attend pre-mediation sessions to work with families who are trying to save their homes, then participate in mediation sessions as the families attorneys negotiate with major lenders. FEDERAL COURT MEDIATION PROJECT Clinic students and faculty have been appointed to represent plaintiffs in cases pending before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for purposes of mediation. Pro bono attorneys are appointed for the limited purpose of representing the otherwise pro se litigants in mediation in an effort to settle the cases. Students have represented clients in cases involving employment discrimination and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. CONTEMPT DOCKET Students continue to serve as the Court s Attorney in bringing contempt actions in St. Louis County to enforce orders of protection. The students present evidence to enforce court orders requiring respondents to attend batterers intervention programs. THE SPOT Students work at the SPOT, a medical center for at risk adolescents, by providing holistic advocacy to children and families in civil matters related to name changes, education advocacy, guardianships, municipal court and criminal defense. HELP FOR HAITI The Community & Economic Development Clinic worked with the School of Medicine in an interdisciplinary effort to obtain 501(c)(3) status for a new nonprofit which will provide pediatricians in Haiti with training in the latest medical techniques to benefit children. The nonprofit also helps support a new school in Haiti for the poorest children. MISSOURI SUPREME COURT Clinic students are representing clients in two cases pending before the Missouri Supreme Court. In one case, a client with disabilities is challenging a finding that he was overpaid unemployment benefits, and in the other case, students represent a woman denied unemployment benefits after she lost her job for allegedly failing to follow office procedures. Students continue to argue cases in the Missouri Court of Appeals on behalf of persons appealing the denial of unemployment compensation and in Juvenile Court cases. BATTERED WOMEN S SYMPOSIUM Clinic faculty presented at the recent symposium, Battered Women Who Kill, which was co-sponsored with SLU LAW s Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Law. The symposium included presentations by a woman who served a lengthy sentence after killing her abuser and by Clinic faculty who served as attorneys for the incarcerated women.

5 SUCCESS FOR OUR CLIENTS SETTLEMENT IN CLASS ACTION FOR THE DEAF Clinic students and faculty are part of the legal team which has successfully settled a federal class action lawsuit seeking greater access to mental health services for deaf Missourians. annuities owned by families do not make a family member ineligible for nursing home benefits. THE DAVID GRANT CLINIC AWARD The David Grant Clinic Award is given in honor of the late civil rights attorney to outstanding students who dedicated their final year of law school to the principles of public service, commitment to clients and defending of social justice. The settlement affects more than 1,000 deaf Missourians who will now have greater access to mental health professionals who understand their unique needs and to sign language interpreters who can facilitate treatment. Federal Court Orders Aid to Disabled Missourians A United States District Court judge has ordered the State of Missouri to provide incontinence supplies to Missourians who receive Medicaid assistance. The permanent injunction was issued in a case filed by Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, in conjunction with the Justice Department and a private law firm in St. Louis, with assistance from students and faculty of the PICTURED ABOVE ARE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, LEGAL CLINICS BARBARA GILCHRIST; THE 2012 DAVID GRANT CLINIC AWARD WINNERS MARY BEEKMAN AND KELLY TYLER, AND DEAN ANNETTE CLARK. SLU Legal Clinics. The ruling will allow highly vulnerable Missourians to remain in their homes instead of having to move to nursing homes. Helping Seniors Clinic students and faculty joined with three elder law firms around the state to successfully challenge the state s eligibility standards for Medicaid as they pertain to annuities. The Western District Court of Appeals issued a decision favoring the families represented by the Clinics and the private lawyers, holding that certain I will never be able to repay my clients for what they have taught me. Moreover, I will never be able to repay the clinic professors, students and staff for the patience, lessons and love they have shown me. As I move forward into practice serving victims of domestic violence, I hope that I can continue to use the many lessons I have learned to inspire my work. CLAIRE (SECOY) POLEY ( 11) LEGAL ASSISTANCE ATTORNEY, SUSANNA WESLEY FAMILY LEARNING CENTER, EAST PRAIRIE, MO. FAR RIGHT: AMANY RAGAB HACKING

6 We represent the underdog, the forgotten, the hopeless. Without our help, many people would end up on the streets or in jail or without medical benefits. We are the last line of defense for many people. PROFESSOR JOHN J. AMMANN DIRECTOR, SLU LAW LEGAL CLINICS BY THE NUMBERS 36 IN-HOUSE 290 STUDENTS 39,000 HOURS CLINICS, EXTERNSHIPS, JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS AND PUBLIC SERVICE PROGRAMS OFFERED THROUGH THE LEGAL CLINICS PARTICIPATE IN THE SLU LAW LEGAL CLINICS EVERY YEAR OF FREE LEGAL SERVICE PROVIDED ANNUALLY BY THE LEGAL CLINICS FACULTY AND STAFF JOHN J. AMMANN DIRECTOR, LEGAL CLINICS; SUPERVISOR, LITIGATION CLINIC; CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF LAW B.A., Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; J.D., Saint Louis University School of Law BARBARA GILCHRIST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, LEGAL CLINICS; SUPERVISOR, ELDER LAW CLINIC; CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF LAW B.A., Wichita State University; J.D., Washington University in St. Louis School of Law; Ph.D., Saint Louis University School of Public Health PATRICIA HARRISON SUPERVISOR, CHILD ADVOCACY CLINIC; B.S.W., Saint Louis University; J.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law DANA M. MALKUS SUPERVISOR, COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CLINIC; ASSISTANT CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF LAW B.A., Indiana University Bloomington; J.D., Saint Louis University School of Law BRENDAN ROEDIGER SUPERVISOR, LITIGATION CLINIC; B.A., University of Minnesota; J.D., Washington University in St. Louis School of Law JANET R. FARRIS LEGAL CLINICS COORDINATOR AMANY RAGAB HACKING SUPERVISOR, EXTERNSHIP CLINIC; B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign; J.D., Saint Louis University School of Law; M.A.P.A., Saint Louis University Graduate School SUSAN W. McGRAUGH SUPERVISOR, CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC; ASSOCIATE CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF LAW B.A., Drake University; J.D., Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

7 OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS Saint Louis University School of Law 3700 Lindell Blvd., Room 120 St. Louis, MO PHONE :: WEB :: LAW.SLU.EDU + : ADMISSIONS@LAW.SLU.EDU LEGAL CLINICS Saint Louis University School of Law 321 N. Spring Ave. St. Louis, MO PHONE :: WEB :: LAW.SLU.EDU/CLINICS FOLLOW SLU LAW #SLULAW All SLU LAW photos by Jay Fram, Steve Dolan, Bill Sawalich, Chad Williams and Yuqing Xia. This catalog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract. Although the catalog was prepared with the latest information available at the time of publication, all statements and schedules including, but not limited to, tuition, fees, charges, courses, admission, graduation requirements, general regulations and curricula are subject to change at any time. Printed August Saint Louis University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action educational institution and employer. Saint Louis University prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status. All University policies and procedures are administered in a manner consistent with our Catholic, Jesuit identity.