Let's begin at the beginning. A clinic is like a mini-law firm within the school. The clinic faculty act as the partners, and the students are the associates. Clinics manage a variety of issues, from family law to tax law. Every law school has a few different clinics. They are taken like classes, for class credit, and can be done for as many semesters as your school allows.
For most evening students, clinics are not a viable option. The clinics that tell you they are open to evening students may mean well, but they probably aren't giving you the whole story. There will be times when you will need to be available during regular business hours, talking or meeting with clients, or making court appearances. However, I would recommend making this work within your schedule if at all possible.
I had basically counted out clinics as an option, because all of the clinics at Rutgers were during the regular school year, and you needed some daytime availability. But, this past summer the Community Law Clinic opened up during the summer for the first time. I believe that of the 12 students that jumped at the opportunity, 11 were evening students. What made the summer option more viable than the spring or fall was the fact that a) it was only a 10 week commitment, and b) you could select the number of hours per week that you committed to. Finally, some flexibility!!!
Community Law basically acts as a free legal service for community organizations, not-for-profits, and the like, who need help with all manner of things. This clinic handles some real estate, not-for-profit formation, by-law drafting, contract drafting, and even litigation where necessary. I knew that I wanted to make this work, but I also knew that to be really effective, I needed to be available to my clients during the day. I arranged to take Wednesdays off from my full-time job, and made up those 8 hours during the rest of the week. Was it brutal? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
Since I have a non-legal job, and the summer associate market completely dried up for the second year in a row this past year, I was panicked about how I would get legal experience. The clinic was the perfect place for this. Yes, in a sense I had to pay to get legal experience, but being an evening student will force you to make these kinds of decisions.
Aside from the experience, being a part of the clinic was a lot of fun. I met great professors, worked with some of my favorite evening people, and learned a lot about the role of my law school in the greater community (dare I say that I felt a sense of pride?). If there is any way that you can finagle the flexibility to get involved with a legal clinic at your school, do it.
2 comments:
How many credits are 8 hours a day for 10 weeks worth?
It actually works backwards. The clinic gave us two options, take it for 4 or 6 credits. 4 credits worked out to be something like 10 or 11 hours per week. 6 credits worked out to be approximately 14-15 hours per week (I'm estimating). I took the clinic for 6 credits, and did 10-12 hours on one full day, then supplemented that by going in after work a few nights a week.
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