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Week of May 20, 2002

 

ORIENTATION MEETING

SUMMER 2002


Welcome to the Law Offices' In-House Clinic Program at Chicago-Kent College of Law. This semester you will learn how to practice law under the close supervision of a faculty attorney - an experience that is available only in the law school's in-house clinical programs.

An orientation meeting will be held on Monday, May 20th, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in room 520. We will also post the meeting information on the Law Offices' Bulletin Board located on the 6th floor. Attendance at this meeting is mandatory for all beginning students in the In-House Law Offices programs. At the meeting, we will distribute the Handbook.

Continuing students should contact their supervising attorney and pick up a handbook from the Receptionist in Room 600 on the morning of Monday, May 20th.

You will meet with your attorneys at the initial practice group section meetings after the orientation meeting. The rooms will be announced during the meeting and will also be posted on the 6th Floor Bulletin Board.

For Criminal Clinic students, please complete a MCC form and return it to the Receptionist if you have not already done so. This needs to be done before the summer session begins.

We are looking forward to working with all of you during the summer semester.



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.


 

OPENING IN SUMMER 2002 FIRST DEFENSE LEGAL AID (FDLA) CLINIC

There are a few openings in the Summer FDLA Clinic. If you are interested, please contact Professor Presita May at 773/602-5144. You may also reach her by e-mail at presita2000@aol.com .


 

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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