Civil Litigation Program
The Civil Litigation Program gives you the opportunity to use your lawyering skills in all courtroom levels — from local trial and housing courts, to the state's Supreme Judicial Court, to the federal court. In fact, several landmark decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court began as student-represented cases in the Civil Litigation Program.
Students may choose from three options:
- Housing, Employment, Family and Disability Clinic (HEFD) - The average HEFD clinic caseload typically includes 4-5 cases in areas such as domestic relations, eviction defense, employment law and Social Security appeals.
- Asylum & Human Rights Clinic (AHR) - The average AHR clinic caseload typically includes two asylum or humanitarian/refugee related cases, and a significant research project. (Check out the video below for more on this clinic)
- Employment Rights Clinic (ERC) - Students will represent clients in unemployment compensation cases, wage and hour disputes, discrimination/sexual harassment cases and Family Medical Leave Act cases.
Working out of the offices of Greater Boston Legal Services in downtown Boston, students engage in all phases of legal work including:
- Interviewing clients and witnesses
- Drafting pleadings and other legal documents
- Negotiating with attorneys
- Conducting research
- Drafting legal memoranda
- Representing clients before courts and administrative tribunals
The clinical faculty works closely with students at every stage of the process. Classroom components of the program include interviewing, counseling and negotiating in the first semester, and trial advocacy and professional responsibility in the second. Videotaped class simulations provide additional opportunities to study the advocacy process.
Students participating in the Civil Litigation Program are eligible for the Concentration in Litigation and Dispute Resolution.
Video: "Finding Refuge Reaching Out: LAW students offer asylum seekers free, often life-saving counsel"