To learn more about the Clinical Curriculum and Registration, please visit our Clinical Registration Center.
You can also find more information on How to Register for Clinics and How Clinical Credits Work.

For more information about this clinic, please visit the Clinic Website.

Enrollment in this clinic will fulfill the HLS JD pro bono requirement.

Required Class Component: Federal Courts Clinical Seminar (1 spring classroom credit). This clinic and course are bundled; your enrollment in the clinic will automatically enroll you in the required course.

Additional Co-/Pre-Requisites: None.

By Permission: No.

Add/Drop Deadline: Early drop of October 18, 2024.

LLM Students: International students on F-1 student visas are required to have Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization; LL.M. students are not eligible for CPT.
Multi-Semester: This is a winter-spring clinic (2 winter clinical credits + 2-3 spring clinical credits).

Placement Site: Various externship placements.

Students are responsible for securing their own judicial externship placement.

The Federal Courts Clinic allows students to work with federal judges throughout the country and at different levels of the judicial system to gain a greater insight into the workings of the federal judiciary.
Students in the clinic will spend winter term on-site working in the Chambers of a federal judge, and then continue their work remotely in the spring semester.
Most students will likely work in the Chambers of either a court of appeals or district court judge, but some students may also work for federal bankruptcy or magistrate judges. Students’ specific assignments will vary according to the needs of their judge, but will likely include drafting bench memos, assisting with preparations for trials, hearings and arguments, and other work related to cases before the court.
The Clinic will be directed by David Zimmer, a Partner in the Supreme Court and Appellate practice at Goodwin Procter, who clerked at both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and who has significant experience practicing before all levels of the federal courts. Mr. Zimmer will also teach the Federal Courts Clinical Seminar, in which students in the clinic will have the opportunity to discuss and analyze their experiences to gain greater insight into the broader work of the federal judiciary.
Once enrolled in the clinic, students will meet with the clinic director and then begin the process of applying to potential judicial placements. The required clinical seminar component will meet in the spring term only.

Successful completion of appropriate written work in this offering satisfies the professional writing requirement for matriculants to the J.D. program from 2023 onward.