The Curriculum

The Curriculum

Learn the Skills of Lawyering

In the Clinic, students learn the practical skills of the profession.

In the Clinic, you will learn by doing.

Each of the seven discrete clinics is organized to give you an opportunity to learn critical skills.

You will 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.

  LA 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.

• 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
• Legal doctrine analysis and application:

  The best way to learn substantive doctrine is by applying it in actual cases. In each of the six clinics, your work will focus on making concrete connections between theory and practice.

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