Students can earn academic credit by participating in clinics. Students are limited to participation in two clinics for academic credit. In addition, students are prohibited from receiving academic credit for an externship and a clinic in the same semester. Please note: each clinic may not be offered every semester.
The Access to Justice Clinics - The Charleston Pro Bono Housing Clinic, the South Carolina Legal Services Domestic Violence Clinic, the Charleston Pro Bono Family Law Clinic, and the Parole Clinic - described below, will involve students in the direct representation of homeless, indigent, poor, and disadvantaged persons. Students may assist in the representation of clients in the context of legal issues and litigation involving matters such as, landlord-tenant, eviction, housing, disability benefits of various types, family court, criminal charges in municipal and magistrate courts, drafting of wills, and the like. Students will learn first-hand what kinds of issues routinely face those persons at or near poverty or working-poor status. Students may assist professors in court or at agency hearings with the representation of clients. Students may also assist with the preparation of pleadings, motions, briefs, correspondence, and other memoranda necessary to the representation. Students may assist with client in-take and other interviews necessary to prepare the clients and witnesses for various hearings. Students will participate in a weekly seminar and in approximately 11 hours per week in clinical work, for a total of at least 150 hours of clinical work.
The Street Law Clinic, described below, will involve clinic students teaching a law class to students in Title I schools in the Charleston area.
The Mediation Clinic, described below, will involve students in assisting in mediating disputes in situations where at least one party falls into a specific category of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
The Criminal Prosecution Clinic, described below, will provide students with a practical, real-world experience, in criminal prosecution.
The following clinics are currently on hiatus:
Students interested in earning academic credit in a clinic must apply through CORE by the specific deadline for a particular semester. The clinic will then review applications and decide to which students an offer will be extended. All offers will be extended on the same day and students will have a specific deadline by which they must accept an offer.
The following deadlines apply for clinics in the Fall 2024 semester:
For questions, students should contact Dean Ralph Prioleau, Assistant Dean for Academic Administration, at 843.377.2411 or Professor Miller Shealy at 843.377.2428.
Law Students in the Street Law Clinic will teach a weekly class at a Title-I School in the Lowcountry. Title-I Schools are those schools with a high number or high percentage of children who live in low-income families. These students and their families embody the underrepresented in the legal profession. After receiving training in law-related education, the Law Students will construct learner-centered lessons in law, designed to develop the critical thinking and cognitive skills of High School students. The curriculum focuses on developing an understanding of the law, the legal process, the United States system of government, and effective citizenship. Law Students and High School Students will examine the role of law, Courts, fairness, and equality in our State and in our country. The Law Students will teach law courses to high school students; prepare detailed lesson plans, note-taking guides, and assessments; evaluate high school students’ work; and assign grades to the high school students.
Additional information about the Street Law Clinic:
Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services ("CPBLS") provides free civil legal services to low-income residents of Charleston County. Family law issues such as divorce, custody and visitation, child support, spousal support, and birth certificate issues including delayed or amended birth certificates and minor and adult name changes are legal issues addressed by CPBLS attorneys. In partnership with Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services ("CPBLS"), students can take part in a Family Law Clinic in an effort to assist low-income families with their legal needs in these areas.
Students participating in the clinic will get hands-on experience in family law. The program will include participation in client intake including eligibility determination and fact gathering, preparation of pleadings, affidavits, and other legal documents, and client follow-up to guide the client through their legal process. There will also be courtroom observation opportunities. As case load permits, students may have the opportunity to represent clients in Family Court under the supervision of an attorney at CPBLS. Students will receive contemporaneous weekly lectures on South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, Family Court, and Evidence as well as statutory and case law on-site at CPBLS.
Students are required to attend a weekly seminar and to complete 150 hours of clinical work (approximately 11 hours/week during the semester).
Additional information about the Charleston Pro Bono Family Law Clinic:
Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services ("CPBLS") provides free civil legal services to low-income residents of Charleston County. Housing issues and eviction prevention in particular are legal issues addressed by CPBLS attorneys. In partnership with Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services ("CPBLS"), students can take part in a Housing Clinic in an effort to assist low-income families with their housing-related legal needs.
Students participating in the clinic will get hands-on experience in public interest law, specifically housing law. The program will include outreach in low-income communities; client intake including eligibility determination and fact gathering to support our in-house and volunteer attorneys by assisting in the preparation of pleadings, affidavits, and other legal documents. There will also be courtroom observation opportunities along with in-house sessions provided by Charleston attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to represent clients in Housing Court under the supervision of an attorney at CPBLS. Students will receive contemporaneous weekly lectures on the SC Residential Landlord-Tenant Act among other housing-related case law on-site at CPBLS.
Students are required to attend a weekly seminar and to complete 150 hours of clinical work (approximately 11 hours/week during the semester).
Additional information about the Charleston Pro Bono Housing Clinic:
South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS) is a statewide non-profit law firm that provides free legal services to residents and families in South Carolina that are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The SCLS Domestic Violence Clinic focuses on the skills necessary for client representation, the ethical issues that arise in cases, and the roles of attorney and counselor. Students participating in this clinic will represent victims of domestic violence in Order of Protection (OOP) hearings under the supervision of clinical professors who are licensed to practice law in South Carolina.
Students undertake all steps necessary to prepare for court hearings. Students interview clients, review court documents from related cases or prior proceedings, prepare direct and cross examination, make strategic decisions, and draft documents. OOPs available to clients include a broad spectrum of relief designed to effectively end the abuse in an intimate relationship. An OOP may order the respondent to stop assaulting and threatening the client, to stay away from the client, the client’s home, and the client’s workplace, vacate the shared residence, and a no contact order. The order may also resolve family law issues, including an award of temporary custody of the parties’ children, visitation rights for the non-custodial parent, and child support awards.
Domestic Violence cases typically involve working with clients who are in highly stressful life situations, who often have negative experiences with the justice system, and who may need to make major life changes in order to maintain their own safety and that of their children, if any. Students learn how to integrate a systemic perspective on domestic violence law into individual representation and also have the satisfaction of helping raise the standards of domestic violence practice in the Charleston County Family Court.
Students are required to attend a weekly seminar and to complete 150 hours of clinical work (approximately 11 hours/week during the semester).
Additional information about the South Carolina Legal Services Domestic Violence Clinic:
The Criminal Prosecution Clinic is designed to provide students with a practical, real-world experience in the challenging and rewarding field of criminal prosecution. This clinic serves as a bridge between classroom learning and the demanding reality of the courtroom. Under the close supervision of an experienced attorney, students will be actively involved in each stage of the prosecution process, including interviewing witnesses, presenting plea agreements, identifying issues in cases, conducting research, preparing legal memoranda, and presenting witnesses during hearings and trials. Students will receive guidance and constructive feedback to further develop their confidence in the courtroom. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the ethical responsibilities and unique challenges faced by a criminal prosecutor— not simply as an advocate, but as a minister of justice. Students will refine their ability to demonstrate professionalism and civility in an inherently adversarial environment, pursuing justice with integrity. Students will be selected after a screening and interview process by the professor conducting the course. Selected students must commit to the course for the full semester.
Students are required to attend a weekly 2-hour seminar and complete approximately 11 hours per week in clinical work, for a minimum of 150 hours of clinical work. Subjects covered in the classes will include investigatory procedures (searches, seizures, confessions, etc.), adjudicative criminal procedures (charging documents, discovery, pre-trial hearings, etc.), guest speakers, and discussions.
Prerequisites: Students must be in good academic standing and have completed at least 45 credits. The student must also be eligible to practice under the Student Practice Rule, S.C. App. Ct. Rule 401.
Additional information about the Clinic: