8 The goal of the Civil Justice Clinic is to provide students with opportunities to actually engage in client representation, learn effective lawyering skills, grapple with ethical issues as they arise in the practice and develop the fundamental ability to learn from experience. The students work includes the drafting of pleadings, fact investigation, some limited discovery, client interviewing and counseling, the identification and interviewing of witnesses, and the identification and subpoenaing of documents. Students calculate child support using the Missouri child support guidelines, prepare parenting plans pursuant to the 1998 statutory amendments, prepare proposed orders, plan direct examination and cross examination, and negotiate settlements or conduct trials in the Family courts of the City of St. Louis and County of St. Louis Circuits.
Students work under faculty supervision and assume direct responsibility for the cases.
The Clinic also functions as Guardian ad Litem in cases assigned by the City Court including contested custody cases, child order of protection cases, and adult order of protection cases in which children are at risk. Students prepare thorough reports to the court, including factual findings, legal conclusions, and recommendations with respect to the issuance of protective orders and decisions regarding custody of children. Students certified to practice under Rule 13 appear in court under the supervision of a licensed attorney and act as primary counsel in these cases. They speak on behalf of clients and conduct hearings. It is important to have at least two mornings free because court appearances generally occur in the morning.