Proliferating programs, for getting out in the field
The Cyberlaw Clinic at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society engages students with a wide spectrum of Net issues, including governance, privacy, intellectual property, antitrust, content control and electronic commerce.
The Child Advocacy Program places students with lawyers representing children in individual advocacy cases, with legal organizations promoting systemic change through impact litigation and legislative reform, and with grassroots organizing initiatives.
The Criminal Justice Institute is HLS’s clinical program in criminal defense. Students are assigned cases at arraignments in local district and juvenile courts. They also handle misdemeanor and felony cases and represent juvenile clients in administrative and school hearings.
Students in the Criminal Prosecution Clinic represent the commonwealth of Massachusetts, prosecuting nonjury District Court criminal cases. They are likely to handle arraignments, bail hearings, pretrial conferences, motion hearings and trials.
The Death Penalty Clinic offers placements primarily at capital punishment resource centers in the southern United States.
In the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, projects available fall semester included analyzing impediments to the testing and use of wind power, pursuing litigation and legislative reforms to protect inner-city children from lead poisoning, and working with the Conservation Law Foundation on a variety of water protection and environmental justice issues.
Students can receive clinical credit for exploring the causes and effects of Gender Violence through placements at Equality Now, the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence, the International Program for the Center for Reproductive Rights and other organizations.
The Government Lawyer Clinic places students with federal, state and local prosecutors and legislative offices and governmental agencies. Over winter term there are placements in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill and with a variety of government agencies.
The WilmerHale Legal Services Center is a general practice community law office that provides clinical opportunities for students to provide advocacy and transactional work for low-income clients who need help with disability law, employment law, estate planning, family law, health care, housing, consumer protection, real estate, special education, small business problems and other issues.
The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic involves students in the direct representation of applicants for U.S. refugee status and related protections.
In the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, students make a two-year commitment in order to assume direct responsibility for representing legal aid clients—from intake interview to final disposition—in varied practice areas, including family law, housing law and government benefits.
The International Human Rights Clinic gives students firsthand experience with the issues, institutions, and processes of the human rights movement, and includes travel abroad with clinical supervisors to document abuses and promote the rule of law.
The Negotiation and Mediation Clinic provides students with real-world experience in negotiation, dispute resolution, and conflict management, pairing them with outside organizations, institutions and individuals.
The Sports Law Clinic places students in law firms and with lawyers representing individual players, teams and leagues.
The Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation Clinic offers students the opportunity to learn the skills and procedures of Supreme Court litigation and appellate practice through involvement in pending cases.
Over winter term, through the War Crimes Prosecution Clinic, students will be introduced to international courts and training at The Hague through placements at war crimes tribunals or organizations.