Law Offices:
News & announcements for the week of
September 25, 2000

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JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIPS:  SPRING 2001 SEMESTER FOR
SECOND AND THIRD YEAR STUDENTS WITH A MINIMUM 3.25 G.P.A. 

Informational Meeting

 On Tuesday, September 26, 2000 at 12:00 p.m. in Room 370, there will be a meeting for all students who are interested in externing for a federal appellate, district, or bankruptcy judge or magistrate for the Spring 2001 Semester.  Professor Vivien Gross will describe the kinds of experiences a judicial extern will have in the course of a semester, as well as how to apply.  If you are interested in a judicial externship but are unable to attend the meeting, please see Professor Gross in Room 617.

 A judicial externship enables a student to become involved in particular legal problems through research and drafting opinions.  Depending upon the judge, an extern may have the opportunity to observe the day-to-day routine of a judge and discuss with the judge and the judge's law clerk those legal problems which attorneys face in their profession, and the specific problems which attorneys confront in their courtroom.  Take advantage of this prestigious learning opportunity while enhancing your marketability in the legal world!

Application Process

The applications for Spring 2001 Judicial Externships will be available both in the Law Offices Reception Area (Room 600) and in the Career Services Offices as of Thursday, September 21st.

 Completed applications should be submitted to Ms. Carole Ross, Secretary to Professor Gross, Room 612, Law Offices, by Tuesday, October 10, 2000 at 5:00 p.m.
 
 

TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
FOR 2LS AND 3LS

A paid position is available for a 2L or 3L law student at the Advice Desk.  The student will perform general legal research at the Daley Center.  Prior experience at the Advice Desk is not required.  If interested, please contact Professor Pam Kentra at pkentra@kentlaw.edu .  
 



CLINICAL PROFESSOR LAURIE LEADER QUOTED
AND APPOINTED TO EDITORIAL BOARD

Our own clinical professor, Laurie Leader, was quoted in the recent proposed amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act's white-collar exemptions which were published in the July 2000 edition of "The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel," serving corporate counsel in the mid-Atlantic states.  It should certainly be an interesting read.

Professor Leader has also been invited to serve on the editorial board for Lexis' new on-line monthly employment law newsletter.  As a part of these duties, she will write a monthly article or comment on a wage-hour topic of interest.  Publication of the newsletter is scheduled to commence in September or October 2000.  We will keep you posted.
 

A NEW CLINICAL PROGRAM -
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & ENTREPRENURSHIP CLINIC (ITEC)

Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Information Technology & Entrepreneurship Clinic (ITEC) fills two needs in the Chicagoland technology community. First, ITEC provides competent technology law services to small technology firms and local start-ups, at affordable rates through its unique fee generating model (hyperlink).  ITEC attorneys and students help these companies stay abreast of the rapidly evolving legal issues relevant to the technology entrepreneur. 

Second, and most importantly, ITEC provides Chicago-Kent law students with practical, hands-on experience working on cutting-edge legal issues, under the supervision of experienced technology attorneys.  These students will then travel into the Chicago legal market upon graduation, providing Chicago with technologically savvy lawyers to meet its developing technology law needs.

ITEC assists new ventures through the each stage of developing a start-up -- business organization; protection of intellectual property rights; transactional and contract drafting; and, current advice regarding evolving legal issues relevant to doing business on the Internet.  Students who intern in ITEC will assist in providing legal services to established IT companies and Internet start-ups.
 


A NEW CLINICAL PROGRAM - 
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; the tactics of the Chicago Police Department when trying to extract a confession or question 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 utter vulnerability of children and adults when under intensive and sometimes abusive interrogation.  In addition to this stationhouse representation, DSLA 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.
 
 

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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