University of the District of Columbia—David A. Clarke School of Law

The most distinctive feature of the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC Law) program of legal education is its commitment to clinical and experiential learning. Since our founding, we have advanced the notion that students learn to become effective and ethical lawyers through supervised representation of real clients with real legal needs. UDC Law’s clinical training program is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 in the nation.

The arc of our clinical and experiential learning program begins in the summer following first year, when students may elect to participate in the Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program. Summer fellows receive financial stipends while providing a minimum of 400 hours of law-related, attorney-supervised service in judicial chambers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Not limited to the District, students have served, learned, and made valuable connections all over the U.S. and even internationally.

Our signature program is clinical legal education, in which students work under the supervision of faculty members to provide legal services to District residents. UDC Law has the highest clinic requirement of any law school in the country. All full-time students experience at least 600 hours, and all part-time students experience at least 425 hours, of hand-on clinical work that prepares them to deal effectively with clients and use their legal knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Many students choose to earn additional credits by participating in an externship placement. The Externship Program allows students to earn academic credit for legal experience during the spring and summer semesters. Students enroll in a highly structured class that helps them develop their professional identities while working with members of the judiciary, governmental agencies, or non-profit legal organizations.

The Service-Learning Practicum & Seminar combines classroom instruction with hands-on lawyering in a three-credit, spring semester course organized around a week-long service learning trip during spring break. A key innovation of UDC Law’s nationally recognized clinical and experiential lawyering program, service-learning is a teaching and learning capstone experience that integrates meaningful community and humanitarian service with instruction and reflection, thereby enriching and deepening the learning experience.