Tulane’s clinics are the flagship of the school’s experiential learning program, allowing students unparalleled opportunities to work with expert faculty and provide direct client representation before state and federal courts, as well as legislative bodies and administrative agencies. Among the law school's various opportunities for experiential learning, only clinic students are sworn in to practice law under Louisiana's student-practice rule.
Tulane's clinical program has come a long way since its inception in 1979. Today, the clinics are situated in a dedicated wing of the law school building and have evolved into some of the most innovative programs in the nation. Each clinic is run by full-time faculty who bring deep expertise and community engagement to their work. The clinics' student attorneys work alongside some of the most highly regarded leaders in their fields. Clinical faculty, not outside lawyers, directly supervise and mentor student attorneys as they practice law and represent clients - earning up to a year of practice experience before graduation.
Through their clinical work, Tulane Law students have dedicated thousands of hours of legal services to the local community, representing some of the most vulnerable members of society. Whether protecting an impoverished community from pollution, helping a victim escape a violent relationship, guarding against housing discrimination, fighting against draconian sentencing laws, representing justice-involved juveniles, or drafting legislation to improve healthcare coverage for children, Tulane’s clinical programs and the students who have passed through them have transformed the legal landscape of the local and statewide community.
“These programs really gave me insight on the responsibility you have when representing a client, having their life-- their situation-- in your hands, it taught me how to be more thorough with my work and how to really pay attention to detail.” -- Catherine Nunez (L ’18), Criminal Justice Clinic, commercial real estate firm, Atlanta, GA
“I think … what is so valuable about the clinics, is that you don’t really get this experience anywhere else, you get direct client interaction, and you learn that this is not just abstract oral arguments, and legal points . . . There are real people behind these conflicts.” -- Coleman Torrens (L ’18), Criminal Justice Clinic, judicial law clerk, US District Court (EDLA)
"I had amazing mentors in law school. When I worked in the clinic, my professors provided amazing guidance to me. They helped me find jobs. They helped me deal with the pressures of law school. Without that mentorship I think I would have gone into the workforce with a different perception of how attorneys interact with each other. They really showed me the value of being professional, being yourself, and maintaining a sense of humor about all of it." Morgan Kelley (L '18), Civil Rights and Federal Practice Clinic
