Students argue a mock motion and participate in a mock Tax Court trial. Federal Income Tax is a pre-requisite. Preference will be given to students who have taken an additional tax course or who have otherwise demonstrated an interest in tax. The Urban Legal Clinic represents individuals and groups in a variety of cases arising from, or exacerbated by, urban poverty. These include landlord-tenant, matrimonial, consumer protection, and juvenile delinquency matters.
Students regularly appear at hearings or in court on behalf of clinic clients.
Principal educational goals include developing skills in interviewing and fact investigation to build cases, and using direct and cross-examination and documentary evidence to present a persuasive case. The Special Education Clinic represents indigent parents of children with disabilities, typically in the urban areas of Essex County, seeking special education programs and services. Representation entails everything from interviewing clients, reviewing school and expert records, researching and drafting legal documents, appearing at meetings with school personnel, mediation, emergency, and due process administrative hearings, and handling federal court proceedings either on the merits or for attorneys' fees. The seminar component of the Clinic includes substantive law, trial practice, and guest lecturers from both the educational and legal fields. The seminar ends with a mock mediation and then a mock administrative hearing before a real administrative law judge.