Our student mission: The Domestic Violence Clinic is committed to teaching a new generation of law students the skills necessary to become excellent lawyers, and to think critically about the legal system they will soon enter.
The Clinic offers a year-long program that consists of three credit hours each semester, and a three credit hour co-requisite in the Fall Semester. Legal Profession and Evidence are course pre-requisites, and Trial Advocacy is a co-requisite.
Students in the Clinic take an oath allowing them to practice law under the Louisiana Supreme Court’s third-year student practice rule. They are assigned client cases in teams of two to four, depending on the complexity of the issues. The Clinic handles both emergency and non-emergency cases, and most students represent between two and three clients during the course of an academic year. Student attorneys act as lead counsel in their cases, conducting written discovery, depositions, drafting motions and pleadings, and representing clients in court. In court, student attorneys handle all aspects of their hearings, including opening statements, witness direct and cross-examination, and closing arguments. Students receive thorough litigation skills training in the Clinic’s co-requisite course and are intensively supervised by faculty.
All the while, Clinic students take a co-requisite course that focuses on pre-trial and trial practice skills. The experiential seminar companion course combines lecture and student practice, including videotaped reviews of student performance in client interviews and depositions, and practice exercises relating to written discovery, pleadings, motions, civil procedure, and objections.
Together, Clinic students and faculty examine systemic failures in the legal responses to abuse, and work toward solutions through law reform, training, and advocacy projects. Learning objectives for Clinic students include:
- developing pre-trial and trial practice skills that are broadly applicable to any litigation practice
- developing good lawyering habits that promote competence, ethics, and professionalism
- developing a foundation for sound professional judgment
- reflecting critically on issues relating to access to justice
"One of my most memorable moments of the clinic this year was when I had the opportunity to represent and defend a domestic violence survivor in a contempt hearing where her abuser was trying to accuse her of violating a custody agreement. I got to see the trial from the very beginning until the end. I was able to do a cross examination of her abuser, which was very rewarding for me to know how much it meant to her as well as just successfully defending her and getting this worry off her back, so she can continue to be a parent to her child and live without fear of her abuser taking her to court again and again." Kirby Kenny (L’18)
