Law Offices:
News & announcements for the week of
April 3, 2000

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LAW OFFICES - FALL REGISTRATION FOR IN-HOUSE PROGRAMS

Students who would like to learn how to practice law while they are in law school should apply for the in-house clinical education program, LAW OFFICES. Applications are now available for the fall semester. The fall applications are due no later than Wednesday, April 19, 2000.

Students may apply for Law Offices after they have completed the equivalent to their first year of law school (27 credits). To be considered for a place, ALL students must complete and return a completed Law Offices application. Applications must be turned in to the Law Offices Receptionist in Suite 600 by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, 2000.

Students who have previously taken or who are now taking Law Offices (continuing students), and who submit their applications by the due date will be given preference in their same practice group if availability permits. Next, priority will be given to the top ten students on each first choice waiting list who did not turn down a place for spring 2000, who were on the waiting list in the division they have marked as first choice, and who submitted their spring application by the due date. New students who have submitted their applications by the due date will be selected in the Law Offices lottery. The total number of available places during each semester is dependent upon the number of supervising attorneys in each practice group.

There are five in-house practice groups from which to choose -- employment discrimination/civil rights with some general practice, criminal defense, tax (prerequisites are Personal Income Tax and Tax Procedure), health law, and mediation & other ADR procedures.

The Law Offices recently added a new clinical offering, beginning the summer 2000 semester - First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA).  FDLA provides a unique frontline criminal defense for students, enabling them to see:  how evidence is collected and created; how the Chicago Police Department obtains confessions and questions witnesses; the role that the Cook County State's Attorney's Felony Review Team plays during the beginning stages of a criminal investigation; and the vulnerability of children and adults under intensive interrogation.

In three of the in-house programs - employment discrimination/civil rights litigation with some general practice program, the criminal defense litigation program, and ADR program - students are given the option of enrolling for three or four credits.  Students who enroll for four credits put in a minimum of sixteen hours per week, and students who enroll for three credits put in a minimum of twelve hours per week during the fourteen-week semester.  In the health law litigation program and the tax litigation program students enroll for three credits and put in a minimum of twelve hours per week. In the FDLA program, students will enroll for two credits and put in a minimum of eight hours per week.

For more information, you may talk to the clinical professors who supervise the various practice groups -- Professors Gonzalez (Room 629), Leader (Room 621) and Norton (Room 623) for employment discrimination/civil rights with some general practice; Professors Kling (Room 625), and Thomas (Room 609) for criminal defense; Professor Abbott (Room 625) for tax; Professor Kentra (Room 611) for mediation & other ADR procedures; Professor Kraus (Room 627) for health law; and Professor Kling for FDLA. Professor Laser (Room 631) is also available to answer your questions.
 
 

PREFERENCE SHEETS ARE AVAILABLE IN ROOM 600
FOR CONTINUING LADR STUDENTS

In addition to completing a Law Offices Application, LADR students must submit a Preference Sheet to select their first and second choices of Clinic for the fall semester.  Please pick up a form in the Reception area in Room 600, or you may send an e-mail response indicating your preference to Rosemary Alexander, ralexand@kentlaw.edu.  You must make your selections by Monday, April 17, 2000.
 
 

 A NEW CLINICAL OFFERING - 
 FIRST DEFENSE LEGAL AID

First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA), the only program of its kind in the country, fills the gap in Illinois' public defender system by providing 24-hour free legal representation to adults and children in police custody or under police investigation.  FDLA provides a unique "frontline" criminal defense experience for students, enabling them to see: how evidence is collected and created; how the Chicago Police Department obtains confessions and questions witnesses; the role that the Cook County State's Attorney's Felony Review Team plays during the beginning stages of a criminal investigation; and the  vulnerability of children and adults under intensive interrogation.  In addition to this stationhouse representation, FDLA also works toward the permanent improvement of our criminal justice system by educating the public, organizing community residents to combat police misconduct, by engaging in legislative and community advocacy, investigating patterns of misconduct by the Chicago Police, taking select criminal defense cases to trial, and initiating 42 U.S.C. §1983 litigation to improve the policies and procedures of the Chicago Police as they relate to the treatment of persons in police custody.

Students participating in the FDLA class must be eligible for a Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license.  Students representing FDLA clients at Chicago Police Stations will gain unique insight into the criminal justice system at its earliest stage and be able to:

1. View and Document Line-Ups, DNA testing, and Halt Lie Detector Tests.
2. Assert a Client's 5th Amendment Right to Remain Silent and 6th Amendment Right to Counsel.
3. Gather Information from the Police on the Progress of the Investigation.
4. Document Police Brutality and other Misconduct.
5. Counsel Clients and Provide Information to their Families.
6. Interview Witnesses.
7. Demand a Client's Immediate Release at the Police Station and in Court.

A limited number of students will be selected to participate in the FDLA Program.  Interested students should complete an application which is available in Room 600.  Applications for the FDLA Program for the summer semester are due to the Law Offices' Receptionist by 5:00 p.m. on April 10, 2000.
 
 

LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM
FALL 2000 SEMESTER

 Do you want practical legal experience in a specialized area of law, either in a government agency or a private firm or corporation?

 Do you want to make yourself more marketable to prospective employers? 

 If so, consider Legal Externship for Fall Semester, 2000. 

 Legal Externship is a 4-credit hour non-graded program open to students in their last year of law school.  You can extern in a private or public, civil or criminal practice -- everything from the State's Attorney's and Public Defender's Office to the Illinois Commerce Commission to a major corporation.   Many externships enable you to use your 711 license and appear in court.

 Information packets with accompanying application forms are available in the Law Offices Reception Area and the Career Services Office. 

 To learn more about the program or to set up an interview to discuss your placement choice and opportunity, contact Professor Gross.
 
 

LAW OFFICES OF CHICAGO-KENT

The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent offers nine long-standing programs in live-client clinical legal education which accommodate over 150 students in the fall and spring semesters and over 50 students in the summer semester. 

For a complete description of all clinical programs, please visit the Law Offices Home Page at www.kentlaw.edu/academics/clinic
 
 
 
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