For Immediate Release
March 8, 2010

Media Contact:

Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgetown University Law Center is pleased to announce that a new clinical program, the Community Justice Project, will open in fall 2010.

"Public service is a hallmark of Georgetown Law, and we are delighted with this new opportunity to serve the community," said Georgetown Law Interim Dean Judith Areen. "It is our hope that the Community Justice Project will both provide students with an opportunity to work for social justice and show them that they can make a difference as lawyers."

Developed and directed by Georgetown Law Professor Jane Aiken, the Community Justice Project will educate students about how lawyers handle problems using a wide range of strategies, including litigation, policy initiatives, international law, the media, public education and transactional activities.

Students will be responsible for providing legal services to at least one individual client. Cases handled by the clinic will change based on community need. The clinic anticipates handling HIV cases for incarcerated persons, working on legal problems associated with re-entry after a period of incarceration and representing allegedly mentally ill people in civil commitment proceedings.

The clinic will offer one two-year graduate teaching fellowship for attorneys interested in clinical legal education and social justice advocacy. Fellows will receive intensive training in clinical pedagogy, supervise the casework of students and co-teach the clinic’s seminar.

A pioneer in clinical legal education, Georgetown Law’s clinical program is consistently ranked as the top program in the nation. At least 17 full-time faculty, 26 graduate fellows, and several adjunct faculty supervise and teach the 300 J.D. students who enroll in the 19 clinical courses offered by the Law Center’s 12 clinics each year. The Community Justice Project will be Georgetown Law’s 13th clinic.

 

About Georgetown University Law Center 

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's premier law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body representing more than 60 countries.