Clinic and Volunteer Opportunities

Clinic and volunteer opportunities allow students to experience law practice from initial client contact to courtroom representation under attorney supervision. Lawyering skills such as interviewing, counseling, negotiation, and trial practice are fostered in these learning environments. Participation in these experiential programs enables Santa Clara students to serve the social justice needs of the surrounding community, while enhancing their legal education.

• Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center provides free legal services to low-income residents in the San José area. The Law Center offers advice clinics in the areas of Immigration, Workers’ Comp, Consumer Rights and Workers Rights. Students, under the supervision of the Centers’ faculty, interview and advise clients in these clinics. Students may also enroll in the Alexander Community Law Clinic course. The course has an extensive classroom component that complements the students’ casework, which is done under the supervision of clinic faculty. Full representation cases focus on one of the following areas: immigration, workers’ comp, consumer or small business development.

   

• The Pro Bono Recognition Program works with students to identify volunteer placements with practicing attorneys in a number of legal organizations, including a district attorney or public defender’s office, as well as pro bono placements to benefit clients who cannot afford legal services. Student placements offer experience in a range of legal issues, including immigration and political asylum, housing and eviction, environmental law, and child advocacy. Students volunteering at least 50 hours per year receive special recognition.

   

• The Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) is a new clinical program developed by the Santa Clara University Criminal Defense Clinic. NCIP identifies prisoners with innocence claims and provides direct services to them. NCIP serves as a resource center for the legal community in innocence cases.

   

• Street Law Program The Street Law program provides students with an opportunity to teach to classes each week to high school students in East San Jose. Santa Clara students serve students in predominantly low income areas.

   

• The Death Penalty Clinic provides students with the opportunity to be involved in the defense of a capital case. Each student will be paired with an attorney who represents a person either charged with or convicted of a capital offense. The student will be involved in the preparation of both the guilt phase and the penalty phase including gathering of physical and forensic evidence, preparation of discovery requests and responses, investigation and preparing life histories and mitigating evidence and maintaining regular client contact.