Clinical Programs

Students have the opportunity to represent clients and participate in real cases through four clinical courses:

• The Civil Practice Clinic provides students with an opportunity to represent clients selected in close consultation with, and through referral from, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Students will draft pleadings and motions, conduct discovery, negotiate with adverse parties, appear in court, and interview and counsel clients. The Civil Practice Clinic is a full-year graded clinical course limited to third year law students.
• The Criminal Justice Clinic provides third year students an opportunity to learn the practice of criminal law in a controlled, hands on setting. Students work with real clients accused of misdemeanors, felonies, and juvenile offenses in Lubbock County and the surrounding metropolitan area. Students work under close supervision and are fully responsible for their clients from intake to disposition. Enrollment is by application and invitation only.
• Students in the Innocence Project investigate claims of actual innocence by state and federal prisoners. Students engage in a wide variety of activities including case screening, investigating cases through document review and witness interviews, legal research and drafting of petitions.
• The Health Care and BioEthics Mediation course and clinic give students an opportunity to develop their communication, facilitation, and mediation skills in a health care setting.
• The Tax Clinic provides legal services to low-income taxpayers who are in dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. Students with an interest in tax related legal practice will benefit from the experiences in the research, counseling, and investigation experiences that the Tax Clinic offers. This clinic is offered as a full-year, 4 credit hour graded course and as a summer session, 2 credit hour graded course. Students do not prepare returns or handle normal audit situations. However, students will provide assistance in all areas involving collection disputes, including, but not limited to: levy and seizure action, summonses, innocent spouse applications, offers in compromise, payment agreements, lien releases, and trust fund recovery penalties as well as, representation in cases before the United States Tax Court.

In addition to the client-based clinics, an Advanced Dispute Resolution Clinic allows students to gain practical skills in mediating actual disputes through the Dispute Resolution Center.

In all of these clinics, students will handle a variety of cases during the semester and learn valuable skills while conducting factual investigations, negotiation, trial preparation, and case trials.

Eligibility

The Clinical Program is optional for third-year law students who meet the requirements and priorities of the Clinic Selection Process to receive real-world experience by providing free legal representation and counseling to qualified low-income individuals. The Innocence Project Clinic, ADR Clinic and Health Care and Bioethics Mediation Clinic also permit second-year students to participate. Full-time faculty members who have extensive trial experience at both the state and federal levels teach the clinical courses.

More...

• Clinical Programs Contacts
• Newsletters
• Student Selection Policies and Application Form