Students conduct community workshops to promote understanding within various communities about the functions and procedures of the small-claims court. The Tax Clinic is designed to give students practical experience in federal tax controversy. Students assist low-income taxpayers in resolving their tax disputes with the IRS, either administratively, or by trial in the U.S. Tax Court. Also, public outreach forums provide students with actual tax education experience. For the work component, students intern with an employer who is involved in the civil law field either a government agency or a nonprofit organization.
Students also participate in class sessions, primarily involving small group discussions.
The primary purpose of these placements is to translate academic legal education into practical adjudicative decision making, thus helping students understand how the courts work and how attorneys, judges and litigants succeed and fail in the process. By virtue of the variety of work in their placements, judicial interns also improve their skills in research, writing, observation and oral communication.