Penn State Dickinson Law Clinics (LWCLI)

This clinic is designed to acquaint students with the unique yet pragmatic knowledge and skills incident to rendering quality legal service in the art, sports, and entertainment professions.

The course component of the Center teaches students the skills necessary to be effective immigration advocates and attorneys. Principally through representation of organizations, students will work on innovative advocacy and policy projects relating to U.S. immigration policy and immigrants' rights. Students should expect to put in as much time as is required to complete project work successfully, which will be an average of twenty hours per week. Working primarily in teams, students will build professional relationships with government and non-governmental policy makers, academics, individual clients, and others.

This clinical experience will be open to students who have previously enrolled in the 5 credit Center for Immigrants' Rights Course and will build upon the skills they have learned. The course will involve a senior role in pending cases at the Center; involvement in new initiatives undertaken by the clinic; and possible writing and editing of a publishable material in the area of immigrants' rights. There will be no classroom component.

The course will provide instruction to students in the legal representation of children in various civil matters, including dependency, adoption and custody actions. Students will be managing a caseload of clients. Students will meet directly with their clients, and correspond with agencies and opposing counsel. Students will appear at all court appearances with a supervising attorney. The supervising attorney will meet with students individually on a regular basis for case reviews. The classroom component of the course will focus on various substantive and skills issues, including lectures on child interviewing skills and lectures from physicians on the medical aspects of child abuse.

This clinical offering will provide exposure to drafting merits and amicus briefs in non-criminal civil rights cases in the state courts, federal appellate courts, and the United States Supreme Court. Cases may derive from various sources, such as civil rights advocacy organizations, Third Circuit pro bono referrals and from Penn State Law professors. In addition to brief preparation, students will participate in identifying potential cases for the clinic, case selection and the development of appropriate appellate strategy.

The Community Law Clinic offers students the opportunity to practice law as a certified legal intern under the supervision of a supervising attorney. Students work in the areas of family law, disability law, housing law, and public benefits law. Students work with clients through every step of legal representation from the initial interview to document preparation, court presentations and negotiations, to potential appellate work. Students will learn the basics of client representation and litigation. In addition, students will develop their own professional identity, will gain an understanding of how to advocate on behalf of a client, will be presented with the issues surrounding social justice, and will learn the importance of reflection in legal work.

Under the supervision of a faculty member/director of the clinic, students learn to represent entrepreneurs, start-ups and not-for-profit organizations in a setting that is similar to a small law firm. Issues most frequently encountered include choice of entity, entity formation, founder and initial investor agreements, shareholder agreements, loan arrangements, certain intellectual property protection, commercial real estate leasing and acquisition, operating agreements, employee management and compliance with regulatory requirements. Students will learn the basic skills necessary to attract and interview potential clients, organize a business plan, communicate orally and in writing with a client and third parties, conduct research, draft transactional documents, prepare for and manage closings. Students will learn basic principles of law office administration and will be expected to comply with law office protocols (e.g. conflict screens, client confidentiality, and time and expense record keeping) and will learn and conform to the professional responsibilities of lawyers engaged in business transactional practice. The faculty member will hold weekly class sessions for presentation and discussion of client projects, skill development, and legal issues affecting entrepreneurs and counsel for entrepreneurs.

This two-credit clinical experience will be open to students who have previously enrolled in the four-credit Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic (the "EAC") and will build upon the skills that they learned in their earlier experience in the EAC. The two-credit course will involve a senior role in client projects at the EAC, assistance to first-time students at the EAC and participation in new initiatives undertaken by the EAC.

Students represent indigent clients and domestic abuse victims in family law cases. All cases are in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. The work includes divorce, child support, spousal support, custody/visitation, domestic violence, and related matters. Students should expect to work as much time as is necessary to represent their clients successfully, which will be an average of twenty hours per week. Students also participate in a weekly clinic seminar which includes skills training, theoretical examination of clinical work, and case rounds. Each student also meets individually with the clinic supervisor to discuss their case work and their progress in the clinic.

This 2-3 credit clinical experience will be open to students who have previously enrolled in the 5-credit Family Law Clinic Course and will build upon the skills they have learned. The course will involve a senior role in pending clinic cases; leadership in clinic initiatives such as community legal workshops; and further development of close client relationships and casework developed in the student's previous semester.

The Intellectual Property Clinic provides Penn State Law - University Park students an opportunity to gain practice-ready skills in intellectual property law. Under the clinic director, students will provide legal services to the clinic's start-up clients in much the same manner as practicing IP lawyers. Students in the clinic will engage in client counseling regarding patents and trademarks and other intellectual property. Projects may include: preparing and prosecuting US patent applications before the US Patent and Trademark office, performing patentability searches, developing a patent portfolio strategies for early-stage companies, performing diligence (i.e. freedom to operate studies and/or patent landscape analysis), and registering US Trademarks. Students will adhere to standard patent law office practices such as conflict checks, maintenance of strict confidentiality, docketing, and time-recordation. Students will learn and conform to the professional responsibilities of lawyers engaged in IP transactional practice as well as the Rules of Ethics of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The clinic will meet as a weekly class to discuss current client cases, intellectual property law in practice, ethics, and special projects. In addition, students will interface with clients in-person, via telephone, and via email to discuss client intake, IP evaluation, and counseling. Students will also meet individually, as necessary, with the clinic director regarding the representation of particular clients and special projects.

The Advanced Intellectual Property Clinic provides students who have already taken at least one semester of the Intellectual Property Clinic an opportunity to gain advanced practice-ready skills in intellectual property law. Under the clinic director, students will provide legal services to the clinic's start-up clients in much the same manner as practicing IP lawyers. Students in the clinic will engage in client counseling regarding patents and trademarks and other intellectual property. Projects may include: preparing and prosecuting US patent applications before the US Patent and Trademark office, performing patentability searches, developing a patent portfolio strategies for early-stage companies, performing diligence (i.e. freedom to operate studies and/or patent landscape analysis), and registering US Trademarks. Students will adhere to standard patent law office practices such as conflict checks, maintenance of strict confidentiality, docketing, and time-recordation. Students will learn and conform to the professional responsibilities of lawyers engaged in IP transactional practice as well as the Rules of Ethics of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The clinic will meet as a weekly class to discuss current client cases, intellectual property law in practice, ethics, and special projects. In addition, students will inter face with clients in-person, via telephone, and via email to discuss client intake, IP evaluation, and counseling. Students will also meet individually, as necessary, with the clinic director regarding the representation of particular clients and special projects.

"The Manglona Lab's mission is to improve access to economic justice for individuals limited by conscious discrimination or subconscious bias on the basis of gender, particularly in technology professions. From equity in pay and promotion to equity in artificial intelligence and algorithmic design, tackling these complex issues will require a multi-faceted approach. Accordingly, the Manglona Lab will pursue solutions using a variety of strategies, which may include courtroom advocacy, media, and policy/legislation. At the Manglona Lab, students will have the opportunity to learn and practice lawyering skills necessary to research issues, analyze potential solutions, advocate for change, and represent those facing inequity.

Students in the MLP Clinic will work to reduce health disparities and improve health in vulnerable communities through joint medical-legal advocacy with the Penn State Hershey Medical Group in Harrisburg. The Clinic will address the health-harming legal needs of the community, which may include public benefits, advance care planning, housing, and/or immigration matters; as well as policy and institutional projects that arise from its collaboration with medical partners.

The Rural Economic Development Clinic will provide students with practical legal experience representing individuals and entities in Pennsylvania's rural communities, primarily within the broad fields of agricultural, food, and energy law. Students will work with agricultural producers, businesses, landowners, and nonprofit organizations on specific projects that will involve transactional work such as preparing / reviewing contracts, addressing basic business entity issues, and providing general legal counsel. Students will receive instruction on basic skills associated with legal practice including those required to interact with clients. Students also will receive instruction in any substantive area necessary to represent their clients. This instruction will be provided in a group and individual setting. As part of their clinic responsibilities, students will interact directly with clients to ascertain the legal issues presented, advise the clients on the recommended legal strategy, and prepare or review any necessary legal documentation to effectuate the legal strategy. Visit the Rural Economic Development Clinic for more information.

The Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (Veterans Clinic) will provide focused and specialized legal assistance to veterans and servicemembers. Currently there are nearly 1.6 million veterans and military personnel located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Under the supervision of a faculty member, students will learn the substance and process of representing veterans and current servicemembers and the unique legal issues they encounter. Initially, the Veterans Clinic will focus on addressing state and federal policy matters affecting the rights of veterans and servicemembers, and providing legal assistance to a selected group of veterans whose claims have been rejected by the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration (VA) and appealed to the Board of Veterans Appeals. The Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic intends to accept and help litigate VA appeals cases referred to it by local and regional veterans associations. The Veterans Clinic will also seek to develop and/or influence state and federal legislation that affects veterans or current servicemembers, including but not limited to policies addressing military voting issues, creation of veterans courts, issues arising under the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act, and regulations to improve the lives of those sexually assaulted during military service. The Veterans Clinic may also handle appellate matters addressing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

This clinical experience will be open to students who have previously enrolled in the Veterans Clinic and will build upon the skills that they learned in their earlier experience in the Clinic. The course will involve a senior role in client matters, assignment to more complex client matters, and participation in new initiatives undertaken by the Clinic.

Students who have successfully completed a clinic course may be eligible to apply for Advanced Clinic, with faculty approval. This second-semester clinic course is designed to significantly advance the student's knowledge of the subject matter area studied in the first semester of clinic and to expand students' knowledge of areas of practice in other clinics. Class sessions are devoted to case rounds discussions, and students take significant responsibility in crafting their own learning agendas. Acceptance to this course is limited and only permitted with faculty approval.

The Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic provides students with opportunities to not only represent indigent defendants in contested evidentiary hearings in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas, but also to advocate for broader changes in the criminal justice system through the filing of amicus briefs. While students learn a variety of trial skills in the context of hearings before a judge, they will also gain an appreciation for the vast array of problems in the justice system. This real-world experience is accompanied by a classroom component designed to foster practical skills as well as critical thinking. Students represent indigent defendants at appellate and post-conviction proceedings, in trial and appellate courts, as well as at state prisons. This course includes a classroom component designed to foster both critical thinking and practical knowledge. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.