Legal Clinics/ Experiential Education

If you would like to request an application to enroll in a Clinic or Field Placement please email: COL-legalclinic@famu.edu

A critical component of your legal training is taking the substantive knowledge from the classroom and applying it in real, practical, and professional settings with clients, other lawyers, judges, and policymakers. The experiential education offerings at FAMU College of Law enhance the classroom curriculum and provide a range of hands-on opportunities to impact the lives of people in need of legal assistance and prepare for your future success as lawyer. The experiential education program is committed to helping fulfill the College of Law’s mission to provide legal resources to undeserved communities.

Every student must complete six credit hours of experiential learning. The Experiential Learning Requirement may be satisfied by enrollment in a legal clinic, the field placement program, or a simulation course. These options are described below. Clinics and Field Placements is graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis only.  Students must have completed 24 hours of course credit to apply for a clinic.

If you have questions or need more information about clinical programs or field placements, please contact Director of Legal Clinics and Field Placements, Professor Mark Dorosin: mark.dorosin@famu.edu 407-254-4043.

The Legal Clinical Program offers eligible upper-level students the opportunity to serve traditionally underserved clients under the supervision of a faculty member admitted to practice. There are currently three clinics:

Mediation Clinic

Guardian ad Litem Clinic

Economic Justice Clinic

Certified Legal Intern:

The College of Law strongly recommends that students interested in enrolling in a clinic or field placement become a Certified Legal Intern (“CLI”) pursuant to the requirements of the Student Practice Rule of the Florida Bar. Students who become certified can appear and argue in court, sign legal documents, and handle a range of case advocacy and litigation responsibilities. CLI is invaluable in maximizing your experiential learning opportunities and can improve the chances for employment after graduation.

To become CLI eligible students must register with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and receive a “Notice of Registrant Clearance.” Because this process takes time, students should file their application during the first year of law school. Students who are not sure or do not intend to sit for the FL Bar can also apply to become a CLI. Once you receive your clearance letter and are enrolled in a CLI eligible clinic or field placement, clinic faculty will assist you in completing the process.

Field Placements:

Field Placements offer students semester-long opportunities to leave the traditional classroom setting and, under supervision of a clinic faculty member and a licensed attorney at an approved site, engage directly in the practice of law. Students may receive up to 4 credits during the fall and spring semesters, and up to 6 credits in summer (with clinic faculty approval). Students can earn no more than 9 total field placement credits.The Field Placement course requires both direct legal work at the placement site and a seminar class that requires submission of weekly time logs, written assignments, and class attendance and participation. Students must timely complete both on-site hours required and all seminar assignments to get credit for the course. Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite to enroll in Field Placement.Pre-approved placement sites include judicial externships, government agencies, public interest organizations, non-profit organizations, law firms, and corporate legal offices. The College of Law maintains a regularly updated list of sites that are seeking students. Placements are not limited to those sites, but any other proposed field placement site must be approved by the Clinic Director. The field placement must offer activities similar to a lawyer representing a client; you cannot get credit for tasks normally completed by administrative assistants, paralegals, or legal assistants.Students are responsible for applying directly to the site where they wish to serve their Field Placement. Once a student secures an offer, the student must complete and submit a field placement application. The application must be signed by the student and the attorney who will serve as the placement site supervisor and include the student’s resume and transcript. If the application is approved, the student will then be authorized to register for the course.

Attorneys: If you or your organization is interested in hosting law student externs through the Field Placement program, email the Clinic Director, Mark Dorosin at mark.dorosin@famu.edu

Simulation Courses:

A simulation course provides experience reasonably similar to a lawyer advising or representing clients, working with sets of facts and circumstances devised by a faculty member. The College of Law regularly offers the following simulation courses:

Contact Drafting
Domestic Violence Workshop
Environmental Practice Workshop
Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiation
Mediation Theory and Practice
Pretrial Practice Workshop
Trial Practice
Advanced Trial Practice

In addition, the College of Law may offer other courses that may satisfy the Experiential Learning Requirement. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may designate other courses as meeting the Experiential Learning Requirement on a case-by-case basis where the designated course meets the standards for experiential learning.

Legal Connections

Legal Clinic Faculty

Eunice Caussade-Garcia, Mark Dorosin, and Kim Crag-Chaderton

Mark Dorosin- Associate Professor of Law

Director of Legal Clinics & Field Placements

P:: 407-254-4043
E:: mark.dorosin@famu.edu