The Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic (CCLC) is designed to prepare students to litigate in any substantive field in any practice setting, from large firm to legal services. Our students nearly uniformly report that they are steps ahead of most of their peers on the first day of work as summer associates and as new lawyers entering practice. Students represent multiple clients each term at every stage of a case, from intake, through investigation and discovery, motion practice, negotiation, trial, and, occasionally, appeal. Students take “first chair” responsibility for every aspect of the work. They leave with the ability to approach a case with confidence, research and develop a legal strategy, and litigate it, no matter what practice setting or substantive field. We also emphasize improving students’ legal writing, oral advocacy, communication skills, and teamwork.
Students must concurrently enroll in the corresponding 4-credit Clinic course and 3-credit Clinic seminar (LAW 920 AND LAW 921). The seminar component helps students develop fundamental litigation skills they use in representing their real clients. In the seminar, students participate in multiple simulations covering everything from interviewing to negotiation, multiple simulated courtroom exercises, and a mock jury trial at the end of the term. Other class sessions cover the role of the lawyer, ethical issues in law practice, client-centered lawyering, the adversarial process, issues affecting the Clinic’s client populations, and case rounds. Both the seminar and fieldwork are graded. The Clinic meets the New York State Bar pro bono requirement (https://michigan.law.umich.edu/academics/experiential-learning/clinics/…). The seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.