Clinical Information for Transfer Students

Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (OCP)
Wasserstein Hall, Suite 3085
6 Everett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

617-495-5202

Clinical Advising

How do I learn more about clinical opportunities at HLS?

Harvard Law School has a robust clinical program that offers a wide variety of legal learning experiences. The resources below will give you some context about the general program and teaching pedagogy, as well as more specific information relative to each of our individual clinics.

Transfer Skills Matrix (Note: You must be signed in to your HLS clinical email account to access this document): The Skills Matrix is a high-level summary of the clinics available to transfer students. It is a great place to start and begin narrowing down the clinics that you might be interested in participating in. The matrix provides basic information about:

  • the type of legal work the clinic engages in
  • the legal skills that students will be tasked with
  • what semester(s) the clinic is offered and what its physical location is
  • how many transfer seats are available in the clinic

Clinics in a Minute: Our ongoing social media series “Clinics in a Minute” consists of 60-second videos that highlight what it’s like to be a student in our various clinics and Student Practice Organizations.  These videos can help prospective students learn more about each clinic’s environment and what work students in the clinic have done in the past. 

HLS Course Catalog – The Course Catalog is a great place to learn more about individual clinics, once you’ve narrowed down your interests. Each clinic description in the Course Catalog has links at the top of the description to: 

  • the clinic’s individual website 
  • a Q&A session with a clinical supervisor from the clinic 
  • stories about the clinic’s work featured on the OCP blog 

Helios Evaluations – Helios serves as the primary student information system at HLS.  You will select your courses through Helios and be able to view your course schedule, grades and exam related information here.  Helios also contains clinical placement evaluations from past clinical students.  These evaluations are a great way to hear more about the student experience in each clinic. 

You will also find contact information for students who have participated in each clinic, who you can reach out to if you have any questions. 

How do I enroll in a clinic?

Most of our clinics are available to preference during clinic and course selection.  For clinics that are not included, students can add themselves to the clinic’s waitlist as soon as selection results are released in Helios. During selection, students only bid on the clinical component – if enrolled, the enrollment then consists of the clinic and the required clinical seminar. For example, a student would place a bid on the Animal Law & Policy Clinic (Fall 2024), and if enrolled, their registrations would consist of two components: the Animal Law & Policy Clinic and the Animal Law & Policy Clinical Seminar.

There are a handful of clinics that require students to submit an application. A list of these clinics can be found here: https://hls.harvard.edu/clinical-policies-and-registration/by-application-clinics/

After you’ve enrolled in a clinic, you can choose to drop it as long as the add/drop period for the clinic is still open.

General Clinic Add/Drop Deadlines:

  • Fall 2024:  August 23, 2024 (Please note that some clinics have even earlier drop deadlines) 
  • Winter 2025:  November 18, 2024 (Please note that some clinics have even earlier drop deadlines) 
  • Spring 2025:  December 13, 2024 (Please note that some clinics have even earlier drop deadlines) 

How do clinical credits work?

Most clinics require students to enroll for a minimum of 5 credits (including the course component credits). Students are generally required to work a minimum of 12 hours each week in addition to the hours required for preparation and participation in the related course!

Most clinics allow students to register for a range of clinical credits. More information about clinical credits can be found here.

During clinic and course selection, students should always submit their bid for the lowest number of clinical credits available, to avoid maxing out on their available credits for that semester. For example, when placing a bid on the Cyberlaw Clinic (Spring 2025), Helios will ask you if you want to select the clinic for 3, 4 or 5 clinical credits – you should select the 3 credit option.

Students can increase (or decrease) their clinical credits for about a month into the semester that they are participating in the clinic.  

Deadlines to adjust clinical credits for 2024-2025:

  • Fall 2024: October 4, 2024
  • Spring 2025: February 14, 2025

You can also participate in other not-for-credit pro bono opportunities, outside of the academic clinical program, through our Student Practice Organizations. You do not need to register for these opportunities because they are not offered for academic credit. If you are interested in not-for-credit pro bono work, look out for announcements this fall about the full range of pro bono opportunities.

Note that all J.D. students have a 50-hour pro bono requirement as a condition of graduation.  Participation in almost all of the HLS clinics will fulfill that requirement.

Frequently asked questions

  • Why do clinics and clinical seminars have early drop deadlines?

    Clinics are taking on real cases and serving real clients – in order to finalize their caseloads and being the process of onboarding new student attorneys, students have to commit to their clinic participation earlier than for non-clinical courses. 

  • Do I need any prior academic or professional experience to participate in a clinic?

    No. Applicants need not have prior legal or academic experience in the issue areas that a clinic works in. Students will receive the necessary training on the relevant substantive issues and skills required to work in a clinic. Students with a new or exploratory interest in a field are welcome to apply.  

  • If I enroll in a clinic during the clinic and course selection period, am I able to drop it later without penalty?

    Yes, as long as the drop deadline for the clinic has not passed, you are able to drop a clinic without any penalty. Check the clinic’s description in the HLS Course Catalog to confirm the drop deadline. 

  • How do I learn more about what cases/projects will be available to students for a particular semester?

    Due to confidentiality, students who are not enrolled in a clinic cannot receive information specific to the cases and/or projects of the clinic. Consequently, students must enroll in a clinic without knowing exactly what clinical work they will be assigned for the semester.  Each of our clinics has a process in place to solicit student preferences as they assign clinical cases/projects to students.  While specific case/project information cannot be shared prior to enrollment, students are welcome to contact individual clinics to ask questions and learn more about the general work of the clinic – clinics are more than happy to share non-confidential information as you consider whether you want to participate or not. 

  • How much do clinic waitlists move?

    Fall clinic waitlists do not move much, if at all – the time between clinic and course selection and the fall clinical drop deadlines is very brief.  

    For spring clinic waitlists, you can generally expect a lot of movement.  We are regularly able to clear out the waitlists for most of our spring clinics, meaning that every student on the waitlist was given the offer to enroll.