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 offers students exposure 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
Students represent clients in one of eight in-house clinics located at the College of Law.
- Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic: individuals seeking asylum due to political persecution, relief under country-specific immigration legislation and immigrant worker’s victims of wage theft.
- Community Development Clinic: individuals and groups starting or running small businesses and non-profit corporations.
- Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic: work under the supervision of bankruptcy attorneys on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.
- Family and Children’s Advocacy Clinic (Education Advocacy Project): 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.
- 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.
- 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 arbitrations.
- H.E.L.P. (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.