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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