State and Local Government Policy Clinic (YR-Fall)

This course is the first half of a year-long clinic. The State and Local Government Policy Clinic will provide students the opportunity to be directly involved in the practice of actual law and policy making. Specifically, students will provide research and analytical assistance to members of the Virginia General Assembly, officials in state executive branch agencies, and/or local government officials, as they develop legislative or policy proposals and, when appropriate, assist their government clients in advocating for the proposals or legislative ideas they develop. While each student will have more than one project, and projects will vary depending on assignments, during the academic year all clinic students will have the opportunity to work with individual legislators in the Virginia General Assembly to craft legislation and work to secure passage of their proposed bills. The clinic is open - and all clinic activities are available - to both 2L and 3L students. During the fall semester there will be a weekly, two-hour, seminar, in addition to weekly small-group supervision sessions. During the spring there will be weekly small group supervision sessions, and a sixty-minute discussion session that meets every other week. Due to the need to work over winter break, class work during the spring semester will reflect the need to start before most other spring semester classes. While executive branch and local government issues may vary, the Clinic’s potential legislative work will likely be “limited” to the following areas: criminal justice, juvenile justice, mental health, court procedure, education, children’s services, healthcare, and/or housing.