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Law
Clinic Spring Semester Revised Syllabus, 2001 Professors Andrea Seielstad Beatriz de Moraes Ellis Jacobs and Susan Elliott NOTE ON REVISED SYLLABUS: This revised syllabus contains a few changes, primarily with respect to due dates of certain assignments and some changes in the order and content of each class. The changes in supervisory groups, made earlier this semester, are also reflected here. The reading you will base your final reflection papers upon is David Cole’s No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System. Several copies are in the clinic library. The midsemester evaluations are due on March 26, 2001, and your interview reflections continue to be due as assigned. With respect to community projects, in the next few weeks a few of you will have an opportunity to do research and give some community presentations. Others of you should focus on improving our systems for recording information about the legal systems in which we practice and, where appropriate, recommending ways in which the clinic might positively influence or change the systems in which we practice. All of you should be collecting important forms or other information about the courts and attorneys with whom we interact and entering such information into the relevant Amicus file (housing, juvenile justice, domestic relations) and binders. Each of you should treat whatever project work you are assigned as part of your overall caseload, which you discuss regularly with your supervisor. Those of you who have particularly complex or active matters for individual clients may have less involvement with community projects than others of you. The following course description is a slightly modified version of the one contained in the original syllabus: GENERAL BACKGROUND: As you know, most of your work this semester has involved the representation of real clients. This has involved interviewing and counseling clients, investigating witnesses and facts, preparing letters and legal documents, negotiating, going to court, and otherwise helping clients solve legal problems. Although there is no set number of cases that you must complete during the semester due to variability in the duration and complexity of each case, students typically handle between 4 to 6 legal matters for individual clients. Your cases will primarily involve civil matters such as public and private housing matters, domestic relations, consumer protection, community development, and other issues that we may encounter through our interactions with community groups. Each of you also will have the opportunity to represent youth in delinquency matters before the Montgomery County juvenile justice system. Although juvenile delinquency proceedings are civil proceedings, they are in many respects procedurally and substantively analogous to adult criminal cases. Specifically, you will serve as defense counsel for juveniles prosecuted for actions that would constitute crimes if committed by an adult. Pursuant to the Ohio Supreme Court’s student-practice rule, we will confine ourselves to misdemeanors. In addition, you will be involved in some community outreach and project work such as community education or other means of addressing systemic problems faced by groups of people within the greater Dayton geographical area. This work will entail occasionally leaving campus to participate in community events and meet with and/or counsel Dayton area service providers, potential clients or community members with questions or legal matters. It will involve you in interdisciplinary conversations and more complex problem-solving and lawyering tasks, and it will expose you to unique ethical and practical issues related to the representation of group clients. We will think about the concept of community and what it means to be a lawyer within and for communities. We will explore strategies for attaining systemic change, where change may be necessary to correct a problem or injustice affecting a community of people. We will work also on other fundamental lawyering skills such as interviewing and counseling, developing case theories and plans, direct and cross examination, and other advocacy techniques. Our goal is to provide each of you with a rich, comparative, and varied “general practice” experience. Through exposure to a variety of kinds of cases and clients as well as a variety of types of lawyering activities, we hope to assist you in developing the strength and versatility of your lawyering skills and to assist you in shaping your professional identities and career plans. Finally, the financial status and background of our clients creates a context in which to analyze the impact of poverty and other related factors such as race, gender and class on the ability of low-income people in our communities to access justice and obtain quality and equitable relief in the legal systems in which we appear. With respect to your individual client representation and your community/project work, you will meet individually with your faculty supervisor on a regular basis. Professor Seielstad is the primary faculty advisor for a small group of students and will supervise others of you on certain case and project work. Professors de Moraes and Jacobs/Elliott each supervise larger groups. Professor Seielstad is also the Director of the Law Clinic and, along with Office Manager Denise Melnick, is responsible for the administration of the Law Clinic. You will meet individually with your faculty supervisor at least once each week and as necessary to prepare for and debrief case activities. We will all meet jointly for the classroom sessions. Susan Elliott, a reference librarian and attorney who has been meeting with three of you on a regular basis, is also available to assist us in preparing certain case and project work and continues to be available to provide support and training in advanced research and writing techniques. She will be participating in some of the class sessions. Ellis Jacobs, a senior attorney from the Legal Aid Society of Dayton, will continue to meet regularly with the three of you assigned to him and be primarily responsible for supervising the case and project work of those working with Professor Elliott. He also will be supervising a group of you investigating a potential community project/case involving issues of administrative and environmental law. Since he other full-time employment responsibilities besides the clinic, he will not be participating in the classroom seminar. The classroom component of this course is intended to convey information you might need to represent your clients as well as to provide an opportunity for you to discuss, compare, analyze, and reflect upon your clinical experiences. Toward this end, our work in class will be based upon your actual cases and projects and readings from several books and articles. You will be expected to actively participate in each class, and attendance will be mandatory. Below is a summary of the classroom component of your clinical experience. LOGISTICS: All classes are from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. We will meet in Room 222 on the first day of class and for most meetings in which all three clinical sections meet together. Occasionally there may be some small-group meetings. Some exercises will take place in the Heck Courtroom. READINGS: Readings will be assigned from Mauet, Trial Techniques (5th Ed. 2000); Binder, Bergman and Price, Lawyers as Counselors: A Client-Centered Approach (1991); Moore, Bergman & Binder, Trial Advocacy (1996); Cochran & Shaffer, Lawyers, Clients and Moral Responsibility (1994); Frederic White, Ohio Landlord Tenant Law (1998) and Hurder, Bloch, Brooks, and Kay, Clinical Anthology (1997). There are copies of each of these books in the Clinic Library. In addition, supplemental materials will be copied and handed out to you throughout the semester. You should prepare the assignments before each class as discussions, simulations and other activities that will take place in class will be based upon assigned readings. TIME
COMMITMENT: Representing
real clients is an intensive experience.
Consequently, you will receive five credits for this class and
your work in the clinic should average 18-20 hours per week [including
class, casework, meetings with your supervisor, etc.].
At least 6 of these hours must take place in the Law Clinic in
regularly scheduled blocks of 2-3 hours to assist clients and clinic
faculty and staff in contacting you.
You are expected, however, to devote as much time as you need
to professionally represent your clients and thoroughly participate in
class, even if in some instances this requires that you work more than
20 hours some weeks or have to go to court or complete work during
Spring Break, three-day weekends, or just before final exams.
Our goal is to provide high quality legal services to those who
cannot otherwise afford a lawyer.
Once we agree to take on a case, we bear full professional
responsibility for that matter and must perform accordingly.
Effective planning, time and case management, and communication
with your faculty supervisor, clients, and fellow colleagues will be
critical to your performance. EVALUATION:
You will not receive a letter grade for the course; your
faculty supervisors, however, will give you individualized feedback on
your performance and skills throughout the semester and in a final
exit interview. In
addition, you will complete a preliminary, midsemester and final
evaluation of your own performance.
At the end of the semester, you will receive an Excellent,
Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory (no credit) mark on your law school
record. In addition to
preparing and participating in class and completing all course
assignments, you will be expected to represent your clients zealously
and competently, abiding at all times by the rules of professional
responsibility. A
single lapse in professional responsibility or judgment may result in
a failing grade for the course. Therefore,
you will need to manage your time and caseload professionally and
consult with your supervisor on a regular and timely basis before
a major problem arises. Please
consider your schedules now and discuss with your supervisor any
conflicts or special needs you might have this semester.
As discussed above, you will remain responsible for all cases,
clients, and projects through Spring Break and up until the time at
the end of the semester that you satisfactorily complete or transfer
all matters. Advanced
planning and regular communication with your supervisor and anyone
else with whom you are collaborating is therefore essential.
If you have any questions about how the clinic works, please
consult your Office Procedures Manual or ask your supervisor or the
Clinic Director for help. WELCOME
TO THE PRACTICE OF LAW Course
Requirements In addition to your case work (which will involve a substantial written component, including preparation of memoranda, case summary and planning documents, correspondence, pleadings, discovery, etc.) and class readings and participation, including occasional presentations and short written exercises, you should expect to complete the following assignments throughout the semester: · a preliminary statement of your educational and professional goals due January 12, 2001 · weekly submission of timesheets and status reports · weekly meetings with faculty supervisor · videorecordings of all client interviews and a written review of at least two videotaped client interviews. Please ask the clinic coordinator or a clinical faculty member for help in setting up the tape before your first interview. · a group project in which you examine a system, legal problem, or other matter that affects a group of Clinic clients or a related community of people in the Dayton area and make recommendations designed to solve the problem or improve an area of legal practice. · a mid-semester self-assessment due March 26, 2001. · a final self-assessment, portfolio of written products completed during the semester, and course evaluation due April 27, 2001 ·
a 6-8 page essay due April 23, 2001 in which you
reflect upon one of the themes of the course or issues raised
in your case or project work in the context of David Cole’s No
Equal Justice: Race and
Class in the American Criminal Justice System.
PART
I: INTRODUCTION TO THE
LAW CLINIC AND CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION
Week 1Mon. 1/8
Rm. 222
Introductions; supervision exercise; orientation
Assignment: Student Practice Rule; Handout 1 (excerpts
from AALS 1992 Report on the Future of the In-House Clinic and from
Ann Shalleck’s article, Clinical
Contexts: Theory and
Practice in Law and Supervision in Clinical Anthology, pp.
29-40) Thurs.
1/11
Courtroom
Continuation of
orientation – clinic pedagogy & goals; office
procedures; handout housing case simulation
Assignment:
Ohio Rules of Professional Responsibility; Clinic Procedure
Manual (see http://www.udayton.edu/~lclinic/) PART
II: HOUSING LITIGATION SIMULATION:
A PARADIGM FOR INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTATION IN CIVIL PRACTICE **Note: Everyone should attend at least one civil housing proceeding before Montgomery County’s Court of Common Pleas or Dayton Municipal Court by Friday, January 26. Also, during the next few weeks, we may hold a couple of workshops during the lunch hour or at another mutually agreeable time to go over juvenile substantive and procedural matters that you might encounter in your cases and to get you started on your project work. Week 2Tues.
1/16
Rm. 222
Housing Simulation:
Responsive Pleading, Discovery, and
Negotiation Assignment: Frederick White, Ohio Landlord Tenant Law, Chapters 1-5, 12, 13 & 16. Read Petition and other case materials in Handout 2. Prepare Responsive Pleadings and Discovery before class. Thurs.
1/18
Courtroom
Housing Simulation:
Simulated Hearing Assignment: Finish 1/16 readings and hearing assignment. Prepare assignment for simulated hearing to be held in class today.
Week 3Mon. 1/22
Courtroom
Overview of Landlord-Tenant Law and Housing Courts and
Practice (guest speaker); Assignment of new housing cases
Thurs. 1/25
Rm. 222
Case Planning and
Analysis; Discovery Planning; Involving the
client in planning Assignment: (A) Analyze new cases in terms of (1) relevant parties and players, (2) procedural posture and status, (3) fact theories, (4) legal theories, (5) underlying problem for the client, and (6) ambiguities and uncertainties in the case as described in the file,
and (7) anything else you feel is relevant.
Prepare also a case plan that identifies what you need to do and by what date. If the case is in litigation and moving toward a hearing, discuss what you need to do to prepare for hearing and what alternatives might be available to solving the problem. Plan to present your case to the class and select an issue(s) that might benefit from a group brainstorming session. (B)
Read Handout 3 (excerpts from Lucie White; Binny Miller,
and Binder and Bergman’s Fact Investigation, from Hypothesis to
Proof located in Clinical Anthology, pp. 215-225, 239-248 &
255-259)
PART
III: LAWYER-CLIENT
COMMUNICATION Week
4 Mon.
1/29 Rm. 222
Overview of
interviewing and factgathering
skills – simulation and discussion Assignment: Handout 4 (Gellhorn); BB& P, pp. 84-144; 224-236. Thurs. 2/1
Rm. 222
Factgathering/interviewing continued; enhancing
communication through understanding cultural and linguistic
context, individual biases and natural filtering processes,
etc.
Assignment: BB&P,
pp. 32-81, 237-256; Handout
5 (Eades,
Legal
Recognition
of Cultural Differences in Communication:
The
Case of Robyn Kina; Silent
Language: Time Talks/Space Speaks, pp. 140-185; exerpts from
Gerald Lopez, Bill Ong Hing, Naomi Cahn in Clinical Anthology,
pp. 192-205)
Week 5Mon. 2/5
Rm. 222
Representing and
communicating with young people and
questionably competent adults; reflecting interests of children
in family cases Assignment: BB & P, Chapters 14 & 15; Ohio Juvenile Law, pp. 205-253;. Handout 6. Thurs. 2/8
Rm. 222
Interviewing and
Counseling continued – emphasis on
counseling (discussion of ethics and cases) Assignment: BB & P, chapters 1-3, 15 & 16.
Week 6Mon. 2/12
Rm. 222
The Lawyer-Client Relationship & Lawyering Models (movie
clips & class discussion) Assignment: Shaffer & Cochran, pp. 1-54 & supplemental handout.
Thurs. 2/15
Rm. 222
Collaboration and
Teamwork Assignment: Handout 7. IV.
PRETRIAL AND TRIAL ADVOCACY Week 7Mon 2/19 President’s Day: No Class Tues. 2/20
Rm. 222
Argument, Inference, and Case Theory Assignment: Moore, Binder & Bergman, Trial Advocacy, chapters 1-10. ** Discuss reflection assignment **
Thurs. 2/22
Rm. 222
Case theory and
storytelling: Translating
your clients’ stories
into the language of the appropriate legal forum.
Finish reading and discussion of 2/20; Handout (excerpts from Gilkerson, Receiving Client Narratives, and Amsterdam, Telling Stories and Stories about Them in Clinical Anthology, pp. 271-281). Week
8
Mon.
2/26
Rm. 222
Direct and
cross-examination: understanding
and conveying
context through questioning (block exercises & moot
exercises in preparation of actual hearing); making objections Assignment: Mauet, V, VII, X; Moore, Binder & Bergman, Trial Advocacy, chapters 12, 13 & 17). Thurs. 3/1 Courtroom Making Objections and introducing exhibits Assignment: Mauet, Chapters VI, X Week
9 Mon.
3/5
Courtroom
Telling Your Stories in Court:
Evidence and Exhibits
Continued
Thurs. 3/8
Rm. 222
[NO CLASS}
SPRING BREAK: 3/12 – 3/16 (No Class) Week
10 Mon. 3/19
Rm. 222
Trial Advocacy Workshop --Performance and critique in preparation for upcoming hearings. Assignment: Review past readings and prepare to demonstrate a direct and cross-examination or other advocacy task in class. V.
ALTERNATIVE CONTEXTS AND STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY:
VARYING OUR APPROACHES Thurs. 3/22
Rm. 222
Local Legal Culture and
Unwritten Rules: How to
interpret,
navigate around, and/or challenge the unwritten rules of the
forum & how to advocate for clients when formal
adjudicatory
processes metamorphose into alternative ones Assignment: Handout (excerpts from attorney disciplinary case & Seielstad, Unwritten Laws and Customs, Local Legal Cultures, and Clinical Legal Education, 6 Clinical L. Rev. 127 (2000)). Be prepared to discuss the ways in which your interactions with the local legal systems defied expectations about the adversarial system and formal rules of evidence, procedure, and substantive law. Bring with you examples of unwritten rules that you have encountered in your legal work thus far. Week 11 Midsemester
Evaluations due Monday, March 26, 2001 Mon. 3/26 Rm. 222 Negotiation & Alternatives to Adjudication (Mediation & ADR) Assignment: Handout (excerpts from Fisher, Ury and Patton, Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement without Giving In & selected readings on mediation).
Thurs. 3/29
Rm. 222
Alternatives to Adjudication & Other Creative Problem-solving Strategies (Conceptual blockbusting – rethinking what it is that lawyers do & transcending assumptions) Assignment: Handout (excerpts and exercises from Adams, Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas, Cunningham, The Lawyer as Translator, Representation as Text: Towards an Ethnography of Legal Discourse, 77 Cornell L. Rev. 1298 (1992). Week
12 Mon.
4/2
Rm. 222
Lawyering for
communities and/or groups; Identifying and
exploring creative solutions to systemic
problems; Community
Legal Education and Preventative Law Assignment: Handout (selected readings on models of community lawyering). Thurs.
4/5
Rm. 222
Therapeutic
Jurisprudence and Preventive Law
Assignment:
Handout
PART VI:
LAWYERING VALUES AND JUSTICE; EVALUATION & FINAL REFLECTION Week 13 Mon. 4/9 222 Representing the child or questionably competent adult client Assignment:
Read handout (excerpts from Koh Peters, Representing Children
in Child Protective Proceedings:
Ethical and Practical Dimensions & articles on representing
questionably competent adults). Thurs.
4/12
222
Professional
Responsibility and Moral Ethics in Law Practice Assignment:
No class reading assignment.
Each student will research and present the legal rule, case
law, and issues relevant to an ethical dilemma encountered in clinic.
Presentations to be continued on 4/19 if necessary.
Week 14Mon. 4/16 EASTER MONDAY: NO CLASS
Thurs.
4/19
Concepts of Justice and the Role of the Lawyer in Improving
the Administration of Justice Assignment: Handout (excerpts from Clinical Anthology, pp. 341- 399; and Barbara Bezdek's Silence in the Court: Participation and Subordination of Poor Tenants' Voices in Legal Process, 20 Hofstra L. Rev. 533 (1992)). Reflect also on how your clinical experience impacted your view on justice and the opportunity/obligation to work toward justice as a lawyer, and be prepared to relay a short story or observation about justice (or injustice) drawn from your work this past semester. Week
15
Mon. 4/23 Rm. 101 LAST CLASS: Final reflection. Assignment: Review reflection paper, journal, educational plan, midsemester evaluation, and overall clinical experiences. Think about what surprised you and/or what you learned about yourself, law practice, etc. this semester and how, if at all, you might incorporate your experience(s) into your future career. Be prepared to discuss with class.
***Good luck with final examinations *** |
