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Week of March 11, 2002

LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM

SUMMER or FALL 2002 SEMESTER


CURRENT 2Ls WANTING TO DO A SUMMER OR FALL 2002 EXTERNSHIP:

Do you wish to develop your legal skills, gain practical legal experience in a specialized area of law with a corporation, firm or government agency, and make yourself more marketable to prospective employers upon graduation? If so, consider applying to the Legal Externship Program for Summer or Fall 2002 Semester.

The Legal Externship Program is a 4-credit hour non-graded program. The program is open predominantly to students in their last two semesters of law school.

An extern can choose a private or public, civil or criminal practice and is required to work a minimum of 32 hours a week for Summer Semester or 16 hours a week for Fall Semester at his/her designated placement. Externs interested in civil law may select to work under the supervision of general counsel in major corporations or under the supervision of designated teaching lawyers in well-known firms or specific government agencies. Externs may specialize in such diverse legal areas as tax, commodities, securities, corporate, health care, medical malpractice, general corporate law, etc. Those interested in criminal law may choose to work with the States Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, or the U.S. Attorney's Office. Many externships offer the externs opportunities to obtain a 711 license and appear in court.

Information about the program, placements, student choices and an accompanying application form are available in the Law Offices reception area and in the Career Services office.

You must meet with Professor Gross prior to turning in your application, so that you can discuss your externship choice possibilities.

If you are interested in learning more about externship opportunities or in applying to the program, please see Professor Vivien Gross in Room 617.



EXCITING FALL EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS WHO WILL HAVE COMPLETED THEIR SECOND YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL BY JULY, 2002

FALL 2002 SEMESTER: EXTERNSHIPS WITH U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS


If you are interested in exposure to and possible participation in federal trial and appellate practice while assisting the U.S. Attorney's Office in handling its multitude of important cases, please pick up an application from Professor Gross in Room 617.

Completed applications must be received at the Office of the U.S. Attorney by Friday, April 12, 2002. The reason for this accelerated date is because each accepted extern must go through a security clearance, which takes several weeks.

To receive law school credit for this externship, should you be selected by the U.S. Attorney's Office, you must enroll in the law school's Legal Externship Program. The law school's externship applications will be available in early October in Room 600 Law Offices and in the Career Services office.

Professor Gross will be happy to answer any questions you may have about either the Externship Program or the externship position with the U.S. Attorney's Office.


LAW OFFICES - SUMMER 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 for the summer semester will be available Monday, March 11, and are due no later than 12:00 Noon on Friday, March 29, 2002 (due date).

Students may apply for Law Offices after they have completed the first year of law school for day division students and the first year and one-half of law school for evening division students. To be considered for a place, ALL students must complete and return a Law Offices application. Applications must be turned in to the Law Offices' receptionist in Suite 600 by 12:00 Noon on Friday, March 29, 2002.

Students who have previously taken or are now taking Law Offices (called Continuing Law Offices Students) and who submit their applications by the due date will be given preference in their same practice group if availability permits. 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 the summer semester is dependent upon the number of supervising attorneys in each practice group. The number of available new places is dependent upon the number of continuing students and has not yet been determined.

There are eight in-house practice groups from which to choose -- employment discrimination/ civil rights with some general practice, criminal defense, family law, first defense legal aid (FDLA), health, information technology and entrepreneurship (ITEC), mediation and other ADR procedures, and tax (prerequisites are Personal Income Tax and Tax Procedure).

With the exception of FDLA, students are given the option of enrolling for three or four credits. Students who enroll for four credits put in a minimum of thirty-two hours per week, and students who enroll for three credits put in a minimum of twenty-four hours per week during the eight-week semester. Students in FDLA enroll for two credits and put in a minimum of sixteen hours per week.

For more information, you may talk to the clinical professors who supervise the various practice groups -- Professors Gonzalez (room 629) and Leader (room 625) for labor and employment law; Professors Kling (room 613) and Thomas (room 609) for criminal defense; Professor Ira Feldman (room 623) for family law; Professor Kraus (room 627) for health law; Professor Kentra (room 611) for mediation & other ADR procedures; and Professor Decatorsmith (room 621) for tax. You may reach Professors Gersh and Sanchez (ITEC) at (312) 368-2108 or (312) 368-3420. Professor May (FDLA) is also off-campus and may be reached at (773) 602-5144, and Professor Laser (room 631) is also available to answer your questions.

 

CHICAGO-KENT ESTABLISHES A FAMILY LAW CLINIC

Attorney Ira C. Feldman is named to head new clinical education program

Chicago-Kent College of Law has established a clinical program in family law. The family law clinic will operate on a sliding scale fee basis, depending on the financial circumstances of the parties. The clinic will represent clients in matters limited to cases to be brought before the Cook County Circuit Court. Client referrals will be actively sought from the practicing bar, labor unions, employee groups, and educational institutions.

In addition, the clinical program will provide a teaching platform for Chicago-Kent students who are interested in practicing in the area of family law. All student work will be under the direct supervision of an attorney.

Attorney Ira C. Feldman has been named to oversee the new program. Prior to his appointment, Feldman was a partner at the law firm of Wildman, Harrold, Allen and Dixon. From 1981 to 1991, he was a partner at Naumark, Bonner and Feldman. Between 1975 and 1981, he headed Feldman and Associates. Feldman completed his undergraduate at American University and earned his law degree at the university’s Washington College of Law.

“Professor Feldman is a highly regarded and experienced practitioner of family law. He will expand the services of the Chicago-Kent Law Offices to include representation in matters of legal separation, divorce, child support, child custody, visitation, guardianships and other related matters,” said Professor Gary S. Laser director of clinical education.

Chicago-Kent Law Offices was established in 1976. The program is a fee-generating teaching law firm that provides clinical practice experiences under the close supervision of teaching attorneys. The program delivers outstanding legal services to its clients and provides high-quality clinical education to more than 150 students each semester. Practice areas include employment discrimination and civil rights, general practice, criminal defense, health law, alternative dispute resolution, tax law, and an advice desk program at the Daley Center.

Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. Last year, Chicago-Kent educated more than 1,200 students from 45 states and more than 100 colleges and universities.



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, 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.

Students will be trained to provide legal representation to adults and children under criminal investigation. In addition to a weekly, one-hour class (Mondays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.), students will be available to represent persons in custody six hours each week and actually go to the police station to represent them. Students will be provided with pagers and FDLA will reimburse transportation expenses. Three supervising attorneys will be available at all times to assist students and provide support. For more information, contact Presita R. May, at 773/602-5144, or presita2000@aol.com .

 

LOW INCOME TAXPAYERS CLINIC

For information on the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, please visit the website: 

                        http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/clinic/tax/
 
 


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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