Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law Clinical Programs

Clinical Programs Seeking Justice and Preparing for Practice

Clinics are our in-house, public interest, teaching law firm. Students practice law under faculty supervision in rigorous, diverse practice areas. Each clinic has its own focus and style of lawyering, so students can experience many different kinds of practice before they graduate.

We offer nine clinics, and they each advance the school’s mission to provide access to justice for people and communities who cannot afford lawyers, for the sake of social justice and the rule of law.

— Jeff Baker, Clinical Professor of Law and

Assistant Dean of Clinical Education and Global Programs

JD Clinics Community Justice Clinic

Legal Aid Clinic

Restoration and Justice Clinic

The Community Justice Clinic provides legal services for nonprofit, nongovernmental, and other community organizations that are engaged in the protection of human rights, community economic development, sustainability, education, and justice causes around the world. Students provide corporate counsel and services, including formation, governance, and compliance.

The Pepperdine Legal Aid Clinic at the Union Rescue Mission serves homeless clients on Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles.

Students provide pro bono legal services in a variety of civil matters, including family law and benefit controversies.

The Restoration and Justice Clinic provides legal services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other genderbased crimes. Students build collaborative relationships with professionals in Southern California to facilitate comprehensive services for our clients and gain experiences in multidisciplinary practice.

Faith and Family Mediation Clinic The Faith and Family Mediation Clinic collaborates with the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization focused on reaching amicable resolutions to civil and Jewish divorces through mediation and other supportive techniques. Students learn to draft proposed settlement agreements and prepare and file divorce papers, including parenting arrangements and asset division.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) provides direct legal representation to lowincome taxpayers at the Pepperdine Legal Aid Clinic in Downtown Los Angeles. Under attorney supervision, LITC students represent taxpayers in disputes over audits and collection matters with the Internal Revenue Service and as litigants in federal court.

Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic The Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic represents indigent clients as courtappointed counsel in briefing and arguing appeals, most often in civil rights cases.

Students write and submit appellate briefs and present oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Startup Law Clinic The Startup Law Clinic trains law students to serve entrepreneurs of startups (primarily in the technology sector) with formation, capitalization, corporate governance, user agreements, angel-investor financing, and venture-capital transactions. This initiative is offered under the auspices of the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law.

Straus Institute Clinics Fair Employment and Housing Mediation Clinic Students In the Fair Employment and Housing Mediation Clinic work directly with Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) senior attorney-mediators serving as clinical faculty at the Straus Institute. Students enrolled in the program will prepare DFEH cases for mediation.

Mediation Clinic In the Mediation Clinic students mediate landlord/tenant, employment, and merchant/consumer cases. This clinic offers the opportunity to apply mediation theory in context and enhance practical skills.

Practicums Public Interest Practicum The Public Interest Practicum is a field placement program through which students work with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) representing individuals in its various practice areas, including bankruptcy, clean-slate advocacy, disaster relief, family law (focusing on

domestic violence practice), housing, immigration, public benefits, and self-help.

Under supervision of NLSLA attorneys, students’ work includes client intake and evaluation, interviews, advice and counsel, advocacy and representation, policy and legal research, and legal writing.

Veterans Law Practicum Selected students work in the Ventura County Public Defender’s Office to serve veterans in the Collaborative Justice Courts within the county’s court system. The students’ work may include screening for clients in arraignments and potentially assisting at trial.

Externships knowledge of the law with the development of professional skills through practical experience, and offer students unique and invaluable perspectives on the practice of law and the role of lawyers in society.

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Externships are field placements in which students earn academic credit for qualifying legal work under the supervision of experienced lawyers. Externships enable students to integrate theoretical