About Our Clinic

The Appellate Litigation Clinic, one of the core clinical programs at the Law Center for over forty years, counts among its alumni a U.S. Court of Appeals judge; many attorneys who have working in federal agencies and the Department of Justice; law professors; former Supreme Court law clerks; and partners specializing in appellate practice with major law firms.

For the past nine years, Professor Erica Hashimoto has directed the clinic. It is, in a real sense, a small appellate litigation law firm staffed by one senior partner (Professor Hashimoto), two junior partners (highly qualified attorneys in a two-year fellowship program), sixteen associates (3L or 4E students enrolled in a year-long, fourteen-credit clinic), and an office manager.

The clinic caseload primarily includes civil appeals, many involving lawsuits against federal and state agencies. These cases expose our students to appellate practice in the D.C., Fourth, and Eleventh Circuits. Because it is a year-long clinic, many clinic students are able to experience the full life of an appellate case, including drafting and filing opening briefs, analyzing response briefs filed by opposing parties, drafting and filing reply briefs, and preparing for and presenting oral arguments. The clinic has also had several cases reach the United States Supreme Court on grants of writs of certiorari.

All in all, the program provides intense training in the art of written and oral advocacy. Because many of our students come to the clinic with little (if any) practice in appellate courts, the process of writing briefs and preparing for oral arguments involves a steep learning curve and many hours of work. In return, students learn how to provide the highest quality representation to clients who need their help.