Real Cases. Real Experience.
Students in the Civil Rights Clinic will represent low-income clients in a range of civil rights matters relating to, for example, discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodations, prisoners’ rights, or freedom of religion, speech and association. Cases and projects will be done in conjunction with Texas-based and national civil rights and liberties organizations, with co-counsel.
Working under faculty supervision, students will directly participate in civil rights litigation and advocacy. Through direct representation, students will hone lawyering skills, including client and witness interviewing and counseling, fact investigation and analysis, negotiation, drafting pleadings and motions, and trial advocacy. Students will work on their cases in teams, under the supervision of clinic faculty, with whom they will meet on at least a weekly basis.
Students will also participate in a seminar in which they learn relevant legal authorities, as well as the political and social contexts for civil rights litigation and advocacy. Students will also develop their analytical, research, and writing skills, and think through how to resolve legal problems effectively and ethically.
The mission of the Civil Rights Clinic is to engage students in contemporary civil rights litigation and advocacy while serving members of the community who may otherwise lack access to courts or justice.