Clinical Programs

Children and Families Clinic

Students enrolled in the Children and Families Clinic will primarily represent children who are charged in delinquency court or are the subject of proceedings pending in dependency court. The Clinic will be appointed to represent these children as their attorneys. As attorneys, the Clinic will represent the children in a traditional attorney/client role. Students will be certified under the Florida Student Practice Rule, Chapter 11 Florida Rules Regulating Admission to the Bar.

The substantive law covered in this course includes criminal, juvenile and civil procedure, constitutional law, family law, juvenile law, professional responsibility, disabilities law, evidence and education law. The skills taught include legal research, legal writing, client interviewing, client counseling, negotiations, oral and written advocacy, case theory development, legal analysis, strategic planning, factual investigation, critical self-reflection, and some case management. Each case will be broken into its smallest components and the students will be expected to pursue and consider as many legal, factual, ethical, and strategic issues as time permits.

To enroll in the Children and Families Clinic, students must have completed four semesters and forty-eight credit hours. The prerequisites for this course are Criminal Law, Evidence and Professional Responsibility. Recommended courses prior to taking this course include Advanced Legal Writing, Children & the Law, Client Counseling, Criminal Procedure, Disability Law, Evidence, Family Law, Florida Civil Practice, and Trial Advocacy. Your Notice of Registrant Clearance from the Florida Bar must accompany the completed application.

The Children and Families Clinic is six credit hours. The students will be required to commit to a minimum of approximately twenty hours per week. These hours would include the time spent in court, meeting with faculty, classroom attendance, and case preparation. The students will meet in a class for three hours every week. The students, individually or in groups of two, will also be required to meet with their faculty supervisor once a week for at least an hour to review the status and progress of individual cases. Finally, the students will be required to commit to additional hours each week for client contact purposes. The remaining hours will be fulfilled each week preparing for class and the cases and in individual meetings with the supervising faculty to prepare for significant stages of the case.

In addition to these weekly hours during the semester, the students who enroll will be required to attend a pre-semester orientation to be held in the week prior to the start of classes. This orientation will provide an intensive review of some of the substantive law to be used in the clinic course, review some of the special client issues presented by these cases, and lead students in some simulated exercises relevant to the cases.

Students who have questions about the Children and Families Clinic are welcome to contact Professor Glynn at 407-681-5403 or via his email at gglynn@mail.barry.edu.

Environmental and Earth Law Clinic

Since 2008, students in the Environmental and Earth Law Clinic have engaged in environmental advocacy in a number of significant areas, including efforts to prevent the destruction of manatee habitat, protection of the endangered flatwoods salamander, and reduction of solid waste in urban landfills. The clinic has provided free legal assistance to community groups, environmental advocacy organizations, and local governments in matters ranging from environmental litigation to drafting proposed legislation.  The goals of the Clinic are three-fold:

• To provide hands-on training to law students in environmental law;
• To advocate zealously on behalf of underserved clients; and
• To increase legal protections for Florida’s natural resources.

Students enrolled in the clinic represent clients in environmental cases, including providing legal advice, drafting permit and rule comments, working with experts, and appearing on behalf of clients before administrative and judicial tribunals.  Students also engage in public policy advocacy to benefit the natural world and communities affected by pollution.

Immigration Clinic

Students enrolled in the Immigration Clinic will primarily represent non-citizens seeking immigration benefits or defending against removal proceedings before the Department of Homeland Security or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (federal administrative agencies). Students do not need to be certified under the Florida Student Practice Rule, Chapter 11 Florida Rules Regulating Admission to the Bar, in order to participate fully in the clinic, but may wish to obtain that certification for their future use.

The substantive law covered in this course includes immigration law, professional responsibility, and evidence. Skills taught will likely include client interviewing, client counseling, fact investigation, case planning, legal research, legal analysis and writing, oral and written advocacy, and critical self-reflection. Each case will be broken into its smallest components and the students will be expected to pursue and consider as many legal, factual, ethical, and strategic issues as time permits and the cases requires.

To enroll in the Immigration Clinic, students must have completed four semesters and forty-eight credit hours. Prerequisites for this course are Immigration Law and Professional Responsibility. Other relevant courses that students may wish to consider prior to participation in this Clinic include Trial Advocacy, Client Counseling, Evidence, Advanced Legal Writing, and Administrative Law. Issues related to criminal law, family law, juvenile law, disabilities law, tax law, and public benefits law might also occasionally arise in the course of the Clinic’s work.

The Immigration Clinic is six credit hours. The students will be required to commit to a minimum of approximately twenty hours per week. (The time necessary will vary over the course of the semester depending on the stage of the student’s cases.) These hours include the time spent in classroom attendance, meeting with faculty, class, and case preparation, and case related meetings and appearances. Students will spend three hours per week in class and at least an hour per week in individual or small group case team meetings with their faculty supervisor. The remaining hours each week will be spent in activities including class preparation, client meetings, and other casework.

In addition to these weekly hours during the semester, the students who enroll will be required to attend a pre-semester orientation to be held in the week prior to the start of classes. This orientation will provide an intensive review of some of the substantive and procedural law to be used in the clinic course, review some of the special client issues presented by these cases, and lead students in some simulated exercises relevant to the cases.

Students who have questions about the Immigration Clinic are welcome to contact Professor Aschenbrenner at 407-681-5418 or via her email at kaschenbrenner@mail.barry.edu.