The Clinical Program

The Clinical Experience: Learning to Be a Lawyer

The Gonzaga Center for Law and Justice is home to University Legal Assistance (ULA), a not-for-profit clinical law program.

The Clinic, as it is known, is modeled after a general-practice law firm. Managed by seven faculty members, with a support staff and 40 law students, the Clinic gives students the opportunity to apply academics to legal practice.

Areas of emphasis include family law, elder law, civil rights, disability rights, tax issues, and Indian law.

It has received the:

• Charles Goldmark Distinguished Service Award from the Legal Foundation of Washington (1995)
• Emil Gumpert Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Trial Advocacy (1994)

and has been recognized by the American College of Trial Lawyers.

We welcome your questions about the Clinic. You may drop into the office, Suite 101, on the first floor of the law school, or email Office Manager Bonnie White, who can provide tours and answer your questions regarding application requirements.

What You'll Learn

• Learn lawyer responsibilities and decision making:

  Each intern represents clients at all levels of the dispute-resolution process, and is responsible (under supervision) for case decisions and attorney-client collaboration.

  If the case reaches the litigation phase, the intern handles all aspects of the pre-trial and trial preparation, as well as the trial itself.

  ULA interns were the first interns in the state of Washington to try criminal felony cases, the first to try cases in the Federal Court and to argue in the Courts of Appeal.

• Learn legal skills development techniques:

  Interns develop practice skills including:

  • Interviewing and counseling clients
  • Negotiating on clients' behalf
  • Drafting demand letters, pleadings, briefs, and legal documents
  • Trial-skill development, working with actual clients and their cases
• Learn legal doctrine analysis and application:

  The best way to learn substantive doctrine is by applying it in actual cases. Substantive areas of focus are General Public Interest Practice including:

  • Family Law
  • Civil Rights
  • Consumer and Housing Law
  • Senior citizen problems
  • Rights of the developmentally disabled
  • Public Interest Law
  • Indian Law
  • Other areas of important public interest which are of education value

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