Professional Skills/Lawyering Skills/Simulation

The Immigration Appeals Practicum (IAP) is a one semester course offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. The IAP is 3 units and graded credit/no credit. Students will conduct substantial legal research and draft the initial brief. Students will work with their supervising attorney to discuss research results and outline and content of the brief. This will involve a weekly in-person meeting at MTO offices and as needed conferences by telephone or in-person. The MTO supervisor will work with the student to refine and perfect the brief, and ultimately, file the brief with the BIA.

This practicum course will provide students the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty supervisor on a pro bono amicus brief. Students enrolled in this course will be assigned a case and a faculty supervisor. Case selection will be based on a variety of considerations, including legal significance, social significance, inquiry by an interested party (including students), jurisdiction, service to the profession, as well as faculty interest and expertise.

Students enrolled in the Street Law Clinic teach legal life skills to high school students in our Los Angeles community. Law students step into the roles of teacher, mentor, and advocate to empower at-risk youth to make better choices, overcome adversity, and build stronger futures. The participatory lessons taught by the clinic law students inform the teenagers about their rights and the laws that apply to them, and provide legal information and resources they need to successfully transition to independent living and adulthood.

The Entertainment and the Arts Legal Aid Clinic is a clinical course in which students will provide legal services to real clients. Specifically, the Entertainment and the Arts Legal Aid Clinic will provide production legal services to "micro-budget" (generally under $500,000) movies that have already secured financing and are being produced during the school term.

The Appellate Litigation Clinic, which received the Ninth Circuit's 2018 Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award, offers students an opportunity to work with the professor in litigating pro bono appeals in the Ninth Circuit - up to and including oral argument before the court. Students will receive hands-on training in legal research and writing as well as substantive law as it applies to the cases.

The Immigration Law Clinic is a five unit semester course and is graded. There are no course prerequisites and no final examination. The Immigration Law Clinic will provide free legal representation to clients in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)(clients under the age of 21), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and U visa cases. This will involve cases where clients have been abused, neglected or abandoned or have been victims of a crime.

Entertainment externships place students with legal departments of studios and entertainment companies. Some examples include Warner Bros. Pictures, Rhino Records, and Fox Group Legal. Externs work closely with experienced attorneys on a range of projects generally involving intellectual property issues and/or contractual issues. The field placement is complimented by an academic component, including several class meetings on campus and/or via videoconferencing. For specific details, please see the Externship Office staff and course syllabus.Prerequisite: Copyright (538).

The Children's Rights Clinic offers students an opportunity to participate in educational rights work, including direct representation of children and families in school discipline and special education matters, community outreach and education. Clinic students will have an opportunity to represent children in school discipline proceedings, represent children with disabilities in special education proceedings, or work with community groups to advocate for better and more equitable educational opportunities for children.

Civil Practice externships place students with legal departments of companies as well as with law firms (in non-entertainment practice areas). Externs work closely with experienced attorneys on a range of projects, generally involving research and analysis, drafting documents, and observation/participation in meetings and negotiations. Depending on the placement, the work may be transactional or litigation-oriented. The field placement is complemented by an academic component, including several class meetings on campus and/or via videoconferencing.

This course covers the skills of legal interviewing, counseling, negotiating, and preliminary fact investigation and analysis through a series of simulated exercises based on realistic problems. The course also emphasizes ethical issues commonly encountered in the performance of these lawyering tasks. The goal of the course is the development of performance and analytical skills necessary to function competently and ethically as a lawyer.