Community Legal Clinics

Learn in Our Clinics. Advocate for Our Community

UIC Law clinical opportunities offer JD candidates the opportunity to gain legal experience by representing real clients who would not otherwise be able to afford a lawyer. The Community Legal Clinics are a large in-house law office inside of the law school made up of different subject-matter areas of clinic activity. In the clinics, you have the opportunity to work on real-life cases and projects and will be in the role of the attorney on the matters, cases, and projects. You will work under the close supervision of a faculty member or other clinic supervisor, licensed experienced attorneys. All seven clinics are designed to develop the practice-ready skills that employers seek in career applicants.

Applying to Participate in a Community Legal Clinic Heading link

Read more information about the CLC process and eligibility requirements below.  Remember: You must complete your first year of academic study (30 credits; all 1L required courses) before you can pursue an JD externship for credit.

image

Every March and October before applications for the Clinics open, the Experiential Education Program hosts an in-person Open House event.  All students are invited and encouraged to attend to learn about all the wonderful opportunities that exist to satisfy your experiential learning requirement for graduation.

Each of the seven Community Legal Clinics makes a short presentation, and you will have a chance to meet with and hear directly from the Clinic Directors, Staff Attorneys, and students.

image

To apply for a Clinic, students must complete and submit a Common Clinic Application. The application will be made available online after the Experiential Education Open House held each semester (in early March and early October). Students must complete the application and submit it online before the announced due date each semester.

The Community Legal Clinics have a priority application period that lasts about one week, following the biannual Open Houses. Due to the quick turnaround time required, students should be attentive to all requirements before submitting their application.

  • Application dates open early March for the Summer and Fall semesters
  • Application dates open Early October for the Spring semester

 

image

As a first-time student in a clinic (basic clinic), you are eligible to receive 5 total credits.  Basic clinic is a 2-credit seminar class, and all basic clinic fieldwork is 3 credits.  Each part of the clinic experience is graded separately.  The seminar class days and times are listed on the Course Schedules section of the Registrar’s webpage.  The seminar portion will require you to read and prepare for class and prepare assigned simulations and problems.

You will have to complete 127.5 hours of fieldwork to receive credit for Clinics.  You will coordinate with your supervisor and your clinic student colleagues to schedule your hours around your case or project to complete the fieldwork portion of the course.

Note that some clinics require that you be in the office for scheduled office hours.  Before you apply, you should contact the Clinic Director to determine what the fieldwork expectations are.

Visit our Clinic Registration Guide for more information on the registration process for the Community Legal Clinics.

Get Involved Download Clinic Registration Guide

Community Legal Clinic Education Fund Heading link

Michael Schlesinger, alumnus of the Law School and former director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic (formerly known as the Business Enterprise Clinic), established the Education Fund to provide scholarships for outstanding clinic students.  These merit-based scholarships are awarded each year to a clinic student or students who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to and performance of direct legal services to clients.

Congratulations 2023 CLC Scholarship Recipients!

  • Michael Angarola
  • Thomas J. Ellis
  • Alexis Hernandez
  • Loraina Lopez
  • Ashley Tuburan