Student attorneys in this clinic will represent noncitizen clients before the federal circuit courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. In these appellate forums, students will advocate for justice for their clients while working to develop favorable precedents on systemic issues affecting noncitizens who face deportation or immigration imprisonment.

Students can expect to engage in all aspects of research and brief-writing on cases that raise issues at the intersection of criminal and immigration law, asylum and other forms of humanitarian protection, or unlawful immigration detention. Students may also conduct policy research and advocacy on matters that advance the mission and objectives of the Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice.

Students enrolled in the clinic will be expected to engage in substantial legal research and writing in the clinic, and the pace and demands of the work will vary over the semester. Work will be particularly intense at the start of the semester and when briefs, motions, or memoranda are due. Given the nature of the work, the clinic is best suited for students who have sufficient time in their schedules to dedicate to complex litigation.

Clinic participants will develop skills such as advanced legal research and writing, appellate theory development, teamwork and collaboration, culturally competent client representation, communication with opposing counsel, time management, and self-evaluation. Students will also be encouraged to critically reflect on the potential and limitations of appellate litigation as a tool for advancing justice.

In addition to a weekly seminar for all students enrolled in the clinic, each case team of students will participate in a weekly conference with the faculty supervisor, where students will take the lead on case planning and documenting progress towards case deliverables. The bulk of students’ time will consist of research and writing for casework. Students will be responsible for collaborating with teammates to perform all necessary casework outside of the weekly conference and the clinic seminar.

This clinic will be offered in fall 2024 and spring 2025 as a one-semester clinic for seven credits, and has a pre-requisite or co-requisite of Immigration Law. Students are also strongly encouraged to take Administrative Law prior to or during their enrollment in clinic. All students enrolled in fall clinic will be required to attend in-person clinic orientation on Friday, August 23, 2024 and those enrolled in spring clinic will be required to attend in-person clinic orientation on Friday, January 10, 2025, in addition to any clinic-specific orientation that the professor may schedule.

P/C: Immigration Law