The Clinical Programs Experience at BU Law
Clinical programs represent some of the most desired electives for second- and third-year students at BU School of Law. In the clinics, students perform the work of professional attorneys, representing real clients in real cases, from initial interview to final courtroom summation. These programs provide a rare opportunity to practice law while receiving close, personal supervision and training from highly qualified, full-time faculty.
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We're especially proud of our clinical offerings, for several reasons:
A full-time faculty, staffed with highly experienced attorneys
While some law schools rely on part-time professors for clinical teaching, BU School of Law recognized long ago the importance of experience and continuity to clinical teaching. BU was one of the first law schools in the nation to staff its clinical programs with full-time faculty, and most of our clinical professors now have more than 20 years of courtroom and teaching experience.
"For our faculty, clinical teaching is not a part-time interest. It can't be; it takes an enormous amount of time and commitment to help students achieve their potential as effective lawyers. Students routinely say that the clinic program was their best experience in law school, and I think that's due, in part, to the intense mentoring they receive in daily contact with the faculty."
— Lois Knight, Director, Clinical and Trial Advocacy Programs
Small class sizes ensure high caliber supervision and teaching
In the majority of clinical classes, the faculty-student ratio is one to eight, allowing faculty to closely supervise student work and serve simultaneously as mentors and as colleagues. Small class size also helps foster a collegial setting for students, who often turn to each other for case problem solving.
"BU Law's Clinical Program offers an incredible opportunity for one-on-one collaboration with a professor. The clinical faculty work closely with you on every case, demanding the best from you, but also encouraging you to realize that this responsibility, this achievement, is within your reach. That confidence is something I carry into the courtroom with me every day."
— Delmas Costin ('99)
A finely honed curriculum, based on nearly 40 years of experience
BU School of Law established one of the first clinical programs in the United States, the Voluntary Defenders Project, in 1962. From the beginning, the program garnered high praise from legal and academic communities and soon served as a model for hundreds of similar programs at law schools across the country. As times and technologies change, the faculty work together continuously to fine tune curriculum and teaching methods, assuring students solid and innovative training.
Boston University School of Law provides "some of the best clinical offerings in the country."
— The Law School Admissions Council's Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools (1998)
Effective training that takes students from classroom to courtroom
In the Clinical Programs, students get the training they need to put their classroom education to work in real-life settings. Litigation, negotiation and drafting skills are acquired through a number of teaching methods, such as simulations, problem solving discussions, case "mooting' and videotaping to practice presentation skills. Building on the philosophy that great litigators are made, not born, faculty members work closely with students, showing them how they can become persuasive advocates. Despite the intensive support and supervision, however, students are expected to take full responsibility for their clients' cases, just as they would in professional practice. This high degree of responsibility enables students to better appreciate how their work will affect the lives of their clients.
"The Clinical Program at BU Law was the highlight of my legal education. To this day, I draw on many of the lawyering skills that I first learned in the Civil Litigation Program."
—Bennett H. Klein '87, Director of the AIDS Law Project, Gay and Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, BostonIn 1998, Klein argued and won the first US Supreme Court case to deal with HIV discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Bragdon v. Abbott. In a landmark decision, the Court ruled that individuals with HIV are covered under the ADA.