The FIU College of Law Clinical Courses are a key component of the College’s curriculum. The Clinical Program provides legal education through hands-on experience that enables students to apply course work to actual cases and to examine the institutional, ethical and professional issues inherent in the lives of today’s practicing lawyers. The Program exposures students to client transactional work, advocacy, and litigation in a supervised setting. In addition to the benefits of working closely with professors and legal practitioners, students gain invaluable experience in the art of lawyering from a variety of in-house clinics, and learn the importance of client communications.
Students represent clients in one of nine in-house clinics located at FIU Law.
- Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic: Works with individuals seeking asylum due to political persecution, relief under country-specific immigration legislation and immigrant worker’s victims of wage theft.
- Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic: Students work under the supervision of bankruptcy attorneys on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.
- Death Penalty Clinic: Students will be assisting court-appointed defense counsel(s) in gathering documents, interviewing witnesses and clients, analysis of discovery, investigations, legal research, drafting pleadings and memoranda, assisting with strategic decisions and in developing integrated theories of defense.
- Environmental Law Clinic: Focusing on environmental and land use matters of national, state, and regional significance, students work with ELC clients on rulemaking, permitting, and litigation matters before state and federal courts and administrative bodies.
- Family and Children’s Advocacy Clinic: The education advocacy project assists parents in obtaining access to adequate special education for their children and children faced with school disciplinary proceedings as a result of disabilities. The family cases include contested and uncontested divorces; establishment, modification and enforcement of child and spousal support; custody and visitation; international child abduction and domestic violence.
- HELP (Health, Ethics, Law and Policy) Clinic: Assists families in four neighborhoods of Miami-Dade County on health law and other cases in partnership with the College of Medicine. The Clinic also undertakes policy advocacy projects to improve client access to health care.
- Immigrant Children’s Justice Clinic: Assists unaccompanied minors who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected.
- Investor Advocacy Clinic: Assists securities investors in the informal dispute resolution process or at arbitration.
- Small Business Clinic: Helps individuals and groups starting or running small businesses and non-profit corporations.