With help from professors and supervising attorneys on and off campus, third-year law students provide legal assistance to clients in a variety of areas, including civil and criminal defense and prosecution, disability law, Native American rights, environmental and natural resource law, mediation, judicial law and public interest law. Constrained by a lack of time and money and a rigorous class schedule, students work mainly in Missoula and nearby counties. However, some of the clinics have a statewide scope, such as the Criminal Defense Project, the Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the Office of General Council for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Natural Resource Law Clinic. Practical experience UM is one of only six law schools in the country that requires such clinical practice as part of its academic program. They are opportunities for students to examine the larger role of lawyers in society, as well as an individual lawyer's role in a particular clinic.
Many cases involve family law, especially claims of domestic violence or child custody disputes.
Sitte has been with Legal Services for 26 years and has mentored several current UM law faculty. His primary goal, he says, is to instill in students a philosophy of pro bono representation for those in need. His other goal, of course, is to serve clients, whose cases often are extremely time-consuming. The Legal Services Association is the only organization in the state that serves low-income clients. Ninety-five percent of its funding comes from the national Legal Services Corp., whose budget is set by Congress.