Clinic - Children's Law Center

Clinic - Children's Law Center Credits: 3.00 clinic and Seminar is 2 .00 Faculty: Karen Simmons The Children's Law Center (CLC) is a not-for-profit law firm that provides comprehensive and interdisciplinary legal representation of children in custody, guardianship, visitation, domestic violence and related child protective cases in the Family and Supreme Court across New York City. Students are teamed with lawyers that work with social workers and paralegals to ensure that the position of the client, a child, is zealously advocated before the court. This representation is of enormous importance in what are often emotional and bitterly contested cases. Students under the supervision of one mentor, who will work closely with the Executive Director, Deputy Director of Operations & Training of CLC and Director of Paralegal & Volunteer Services, will be assigned between two to four cases for which they will appear in Family and/or Supreme Court pursuant to a student practice order. The students are involved in all aspects of representation of the client, under intensive supervision by their assigned attorney mentor, including interviewing clients, doctors, teachers and other collateral sources to obtain crucial information about the client and their family; conducting joint interviews with social workers; accompanying social workers on home and hospital visits; digesting case records, researching case law and monitoring court orders. This will allow students to develop skills in interviewing, dispute resolution, motion practice, legal research and writing and the preparation and examination of witnesses. Seminar Credits: 2.00 Seminar: A weekly class held at the offices of The Children's Law Center at 44 Court Street, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 will be taught by the Executive Director of CLC along with several CLC managers and sometimes outside guest. Seminar discussions will include the role of the attorney for the child, interdisciplinary practice model, custody, visitation, guardianship law, interviewing, cultural humility, intimate partner violence, and the intersection of custody and child protective cases.

Enrollment Notes:
Family Law is not a prerequisite, but could be helpful. Requisites:

• Family Law