Health and Disability Law Clinic (YR)

LAW8645
Section 1, Fall 23

Schedule Information

Enrollment: 8/8
Credits: 4
Days Time Room Start Date End Date

Thu

 		1150-1350 LAJC2 08/29/2023 12/06/2023

Course Description

Students in this yearlong clinic represent low-income clients in a variety of legal matters pertaining to their health needs.. These needs include public benefits claims (including Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, and other benefits); insurance coverage; obtaining access to mental health or rehabilitative services; and seeking justice for the mistreatment of seniors and those with disabilities in various contexts. Representation may include appearing in legal proceedings, negotiations, administrative hearings, and court proceedings (to the extent permitted by law). Students will also address systemic issues related to the provision of community-based services, the rights of the institutionalized, health care in jails and prisons, and the interface between the civil and criminal justice systems on health and mental health related matters. Instruction in the substantive law of these areas will be provided in a classroom component throughout the clinic as dictated by the needs of the clients. The classroom component provides a forum for students to learn mental health, disability, public benefits, and occasionally elder law pertinent to the cases they are handling, as well as for the discussion of practice and ethical issues arising in those cases. Topics relating to client competence and autonomy issues involving mentally ill and elderly clients also are addressed. Under the supervision of an attorney, students directly perform all the lawyerly functions associated with their cases, including client and witness interviews, factual development, legal research, preparation of documents and pleadings, and negotiation and advocacy in administrative forums and courts (to the extent permitted by law). Students may also participate in community organizing to engage and promote local client communities, develop and implement legal education programming for our client communities, and collaborate with legal aid advocates and allies to change existing local and statewide law and policy. Students meet weekly with the supervising attorneys to discuss the readings, if any, assigned for that particular week and to receive case supervision, along with instruction concerning client interviewing and counseling, negotiation and case development. The supervising attorney accompanies each student to all administrative proceedings and court appearances. This clinic is offered in conjunction with the Legal Aid Justice Center.

Course Requirements

Exam Information

Final Type (if any): None

Description: None

Written Work Product

Memoranda on client and witness interviews, factual developments, and legal research and theories; Client communications and demand letters; Pleadings and other filings in administrative forums and courts.

Other Course Details

Prerequisites: Trial advocacy, Negotiations, and course requirements for a third year practice certificate (for 3L’s) are recommended, but not required. Because the credits in this course count toward the JD Program Professional Skills requirement, JD candidates will be given enrollment priority for this class. Concurrencies: None

Exclusive With: None

Laptops Allowed: Yes

First Day Attendance Required: Yes

Course Resources: To be announced.

Course Notes: During the fall and spring semesters, students will meet weekly for two hours at the Legal Aid Justice Center (1000 Preston Ave.) for instruction and case supervision. During the fall semester, the two hour weekly class session will include the clinical seminar, which will focus on the substantive areas of health law, as well as more generalized instruction regarding the representation of low-income clients. It also will include case and project supervision, where students will meet in small groups with their supervising attorneys. During the spring semester, the majority of the two hour weekly class session will be spent on case and project supervision. Students will meet with supervising attorneys outside of weekly supervision as necessary, and the supervising attorneys will accompany students to all administrative and/or court hearings. IMPORTANT: All clinic participants must attend an “Orientation to Law Clinics at LAJC” session at the start of the semester. This session will provide clinic participants with necessary information about working with LAJC and its client community. The date/time for the session will be announced by the clinicians, but in the past it has been held on the Monday before the start of classes for upper-level students. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: Enrolled students who do not attend the first class session and the mandatory orientation risk being dropped unless granted prior approval by the instructors. NOTE REGARDING CREDITS: Of the eight credits awarded for this clinic, four will receive a Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grade at the conclusion of the fall semester, and four will receive a grade of Honors (H), Pass (P) or Fail (F) at the conclusion of the spring semester. In accordance with Academic Policy, H and P grades do not earn grading points, so they do not contribute to a student's grade point average (GPA).

Graduation Requirements

Satisfies Understanding Bias/Racism/Cross-Cultural Competency requirement: Yes

Satisfies Writing Requirement: No

Credits For Prof. Skills Requirement: Yes

Satisfies Professional Ethics: No

Additional Course Information

Schedule No.: 123819764

Modified Type: Clinical (Excl.)

Cross Listed: No

Waitlist Count: 0

Concentrations: Health Law , Litigation and Procedure , Public Service and Leadership

Information reflected on this page was last refreshed at: Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - 9:26 AM *

*During open enrollment periods, live enrollment data may be found in SIS.