The Clinics

The Clinical Program at UDC-DCSL represents a significant departure from what has become traditional legal education. All students are required to participate in legal clinics where they work on ongoing cases with clients under the supervision of an attorney-professor. Typically, the student-faculty ratio in clinics ranges from 8 to 1 to 10 to 1.

One vital purpose of the Clinical Program is to provide legal services to citizens of the District of Columbia who could not otherwise afford representation. The clinical approach has also proven its effectiveness as a method of teaching the law. It places theory within the only context in which it is truly meaningful: the resolution of actual legal disputes.

The faculty and students at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law are engaged in the practice of law on a continuing basis. By representing clients with legal problems, students learn the substantive law and lawyering skills in the most realistic setting. This clinical experience not only contributes to a better understanding of the law learned in the classroom, but also gives UDC-DCSL graduates a significant advantage in the workplace over those whose legal education lacks such practical experience.