Harvard Law School was the first law school in the United States to offer clinical education and today offers more clinical opportunities than any other law school. Your support propels programs covering more than 30 diverse areas of the law, where students gain real-world, hands-on legal experience under the supervision of practicing attorneys.
“Through Harvard Law School’s clinics and student practice organizations, our students gain vital experience and learning from excellent lawyers and teachers across nearly every field of legal practice. And in doing so, they not only make a real difference for clients and communities, but also develop a lifelong commitment to public service that will benefit them throughout their careers. There is no better place to learn to practice law by serving others.”
John F. Manning ’85, Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law
Giving Opportunities
Gifts to Harvard Law School clinics enrich students’ law school experiences and have a ripple effect on the communities supported by our students and faculty. We hope you will partner with us as we strive to build on this legacy and provide the next generation of leaders and advocates with the best possible training in the law.
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J.D. Participation in Clinics 89%
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Average Pro Bono Hours 673
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Annual Clinical Placements 1,161
Learning the Law, Serving the World
Each clinic is tied to a classroom component—students receive clinical credit for their legal practice in clinics and academic credit for the course component. 2L, 3L, and LL.M. students can enroll in clinics.
“My clinical experiences have been my favorite and most rewarding parts of my law school experience. I came to law school to learn how to be a lawyer, and my clinical experiences have taught me just that. When you take a case, you never know how it’s going to turn out, what challenges you are going to face along the way. But with every unpredictable twist and turn that my clients and cases took me on, I learned something new about what it takes to be a lawyer.”
Stephanie Perez ’23, 2023 recipient of the Ralph D. Gants Access to Justice Award
Harvard Law School currently has 25 in-house clinics—located on campus or in Boston—staffed by clinical professors of law, lecturers on law, clinical instructors, clinical fellows, and program administrators who teach students in the clinic and in the classroom.
In addition, there are 13 externship clinics that place students at outside organizations falling under the clinic’s subject area, where they are supervised by attorneys.
List of HLS Clinics in 2022-2023
Student Practice Organizations
Credit: Courtesy of Apoorva Krishnan
Open to all students, Student Practice Organizations (SPOs) are run by student boards and supervised by licensed attorneys. Participation in an SPO allows students to gain practical legal experience that counts toward their graduation pro bono requirement.
Current SPOs
- Harvard Defenders
- Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project
- Harvard Mediation Program
- Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project
- HLS Advocates for Human Rights
- HLS Immigration Project
- HLS Mississippi Delta Project
- HLS Negotiators
- Project No One Leaves
- Recording Artists Project
- Tenant Advocacy Project
Campus Naming Opportunities
In addition to essential support for clinical students and faculty, there are campus spaces for clinics available for naming. Contact our Major Gifts team to learn more about these transformational opportunities.
Clinic Stories
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Access to water by low-income residents of Delhi in peril without government action, says Harvard report
Climate change likely to make water more difficult to obtain for poor residents, according to Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic
September 21, 2023
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‘There are many ways to be a lawyer’ in the Institute to End Mass Incarceration Clinic
In the Institute to End Mass Incarceration Clinic, the law is used as one of many tools for supporting communities working to bring about the end of mass incarceration.
September 19, 2023
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Catching up with Environmental Law & Policy Clinic alum, Frank Sturges ’20
Sturges reflects on how the clinic brought him to his current role at the Clean Air Task Force.
September 8, 2023