This Clinic trains law students to be critical and creative human rights lawyers, effect social change, and serves as a lab for the human rights and conflict resolution fields. Students work with civil society on a range of human rights advocacy projects and participate in a seminar where they learn a broad array of skills from the human rights and conflict resolution fields. Throughout the quarter students complete assignments for the seminar and participate in Clinic project rounds where they discuss their work on projects with their peers and supervisors. The core of students' time in Clinic is spent on project work focused on urgent and under-addressed human rights issues in close partnership with lawyers, practitioners, and impacted communities around the globe. The Clinic's practice spans four global legal practice areas: peace and justice, equality and non-discrimination, rights across borders, and climate justice. Clinic students work on project teams, supported by the close oversight from Clinic supervisors. Students engage directly with partners and may travel, if such travel is required to conduct the work. Student project work often involves extensive legal research and writing and the production of a range of legal, research, and advocacy documents that might include, among other items, litigation briefs and affidavits, fact-finding reports, amicus briefs, and other advocacy or analysis documents. The Clinic also serves as a lab for innovative advocacy strategies and provides a space for practitioners to connect across geographies and disciplines and reflect on and test innovative and critically-responsive advocacy strategies through joint projects. Projects may therefore involve multiple partners in the United States and around the world. The Clinic aims to create a space where all students are able to bring their full selves and participate in all aspects of the Clinic. Given the collaborative nature of human rights work, the Clinic intentionally fosters building community and sustained relationships between students, supervisors, partners and Clinic alumni. Special Instructions: General Structure of Clinical Courses. The Law School's clinical courses are offered on a full-time basis for LAW 12 units. This allows students to immerse themselves in the professional experience without the need to balance clinical projects with other classes, exams and papers. As a general rule, students enrolled in a clinic are not permitted to enroll in any other classes, seminars, directed research or other credit-yielding activities within the Law School or University during the quarter in which they are enrolled in a clinic. Nor are they allowed to serve as teaching assistants who are expected to attend a class on a regular basis. There is a limited exception for joint degree students who are required to take specific courses each quarter and who would be foreclosed from ever taking a clinic unless allowed to co-register. These exceptions are approved on a case-by-case basis. Clinic students are expected to work in their clinical office during most business hours Monday through Friday. Students are also expected to be available by e-mail or cell phone when elsewhere during those hours. Because students have no other courses (and hence no exams or papers), the clinical quarter begins the first day of classes and runs through the final day of the examination period. Students should not plan personal travel during the Monday to Friday work week without prior authorization from the clinical supervisor. The work during a typical week in a clinic is divided into three components. First, as they are for practicing attorneys, most of the hours of any week are taken up by work on client matters or case work/projects (this time includes meetings with instructors to discuss the work). Again, as is the case for practicing lawyers, in some weeks these responsibilities demand time above and beyond "normal business hours." Second, students will spend approximately five-to-seven hours per week preparing for and participating in weekly seminar sessions, team meetings and other group work in their individual clinic (scheduling varies by clinic). Third, over the course of the quarter each clinic student (with the exception of those enrolled in the Criminal Prosecution Clinic) is required to prepare for and attend inter-clinic group rounds sessions. Students will be awarded three separate grades for their clinical quarter, each reflecting four units. The three grades are broken into the following categories: clinical work product; clinical methods; and clinical coursework. Grading is pursuant to the H/P system and restrictions. Elements used in grading include: Attendance, class participation, written assignments, professionalism, ability to work with others successfully, creative thinking, peer review, and commitment to the clinical enterprise. Specific details regarding grading elements can be found in the orientation guide provided at the start of the quarter. Enrollment in a clinic is binding; once selected into a clinic to which he/she/they have applied, a student may not later drop the course except in limited and exceptional cases. Requests for withdrawal are processed through the formal petition and the clinical faculty review process described in the clinic policy document posted on the SLS website. Students may not enroll in any clinic (full-time or advanced) which would result in them earning more than LAW 27 clinical units during their law school career. The rules described here do not apply to advanced clinics for students who are continuing with a clinic in which they were previously enrolled. For information about advanced clinics, please see the course descriptions for those courses. For more information about clinic enrollment and operations, please see the clinic policy document posted on the SLS website.
4 units · Law Honors/Pass/Restrd Cr/Fail
This Clinic trains law students to be critical and creative human rights lawyers, effect social change, and serves as a lab for the human rights and conflict resolution fields. Students work with civil society on a range of human rights advocacy projects and participate in a seminar where they learn a broad array of skills from the human rights and conflict resolution fields. Throughout the quarter students complete assignments for the seminar and participate in Clinic project rounds where they discuss their work on projects with their peers and supervisors. The core of students' time in Clinic is spent on project work focused on urgent and under-addressed human rights issues in close partnership with lawyers, practitioners, and impacted communities around the globe. The Clinic's practice spans four global legal practice areas: peace and justice, equality and non-discrimination, rights across borders, and climate justice. Clinic students work on project teams, supported by the close oversight from Clinic supervisors. Students engage directly with partners and may travel, if such travel is required to conduct the work. Student project work often involves extensive legal research and writing and the production of a range of legal, research, and advocacy documents that might include, among other items, litigation briefs and affidavits, fact-finding reports, amicus briefs, and other advocacy or analysis documents. The Clinic also serves as a lab for innovative advocacy strategies and provides a space for practitioners to connect across geographies and disciplines and reflect on and test innovative and critically-responsive advocacy strategies through joint projects. Projects may therefore involve multiple partners in the United States and around the world. The Clinic aims to create a space where all students are able to bring their full selves and participate in all aspects of the Clinic. Given the collaborative nature of human rights work, the Clinic intentionally fosters building community and sustained relationships between students, supervisors, partners and Clinic alumni. Special Instructions: General Structure of Clinical Courses. The Law School's clinical courses are offered on a full-time basis for 12 units. This allows students to immerse themselves in the professional experience without the need to balance clinical projects with other classes, exams and papers. As a general rule, students enrolled in a clinic are not permitted to enroll in any other classes, seminars, directed research or other credit-yielding activities within the Law School or University during the quarter in which they are enrolled in a clinic. Nor are they allowed to serve as teaching assistants who are expected to attend a class on a regular basis. There is a limited exception for joint degree students who are required to take specific courses each quarter and who would be foreclosed from ever taking a clinic unless allowed to co-register. These exceptions are approved on a case-by-case basis. Clinic students are expected to work in their clinical office during most business hours Monday through Friday. Students are also expected to be available by e-mail or cell phone when elsewhere during those hours. Because students have no other courses (and hence no exams or papers), the clinical quarter begins the first day of classes and runs through the final day of the examination period. Students should not plan personal travel during the Monday to Friday work week without prior authorization from the clinical supervisor. The work during a typical week in a clinic is divided into three components. First, as they are for practicing attorneys, most of the hours of any week are taken up by work on client matters or case work/projects (this time includes meetings with instructors to discuss the work). Again, as is the case for practicing lawyers, in some weeks these responsibilities demand time above and beyond "normal business hours." Second, students will spend approximately five-to-seven hours per week preparing for and participating in weekly seminar sessions, team meetings and other group work in their individual clinic (scheduling varies by clinic). Third, over the course of the quarter each clinic student (with the exception of those enrolled in the Criminal Prosecution Clinic) is required to prepare for and attend inter-clinic group rounds sessions. Students will be awarded three separate grades for their clinical quarter, each reflecting four units. The three grades are broken into the following categories: clinical work product; clinical methods; and clinical coursework. Grading is pursuant to the H/P system and restrictions. Elements used in grading include: Attendance, class participation, written assignments, professionalism, ability to work with others successfully, creative thinking, peer review, and commitment to the clinical enterprise. Specific details regarding grading elements can be found in the orientation guide provided at the start of the quarter. Enrollment in a clinic is binding; once selected into a clinic to which he/she/they have applied, a student may not later drop the course except in limited and exceptional cases. Requests for withdrawal are processed through the formal petition and the clinical faculty review process described in the clinic policy document posted on the SLS website. Students may not enroll in any clinic (full-time or advanced) which would result in them earning more than 27 clinical units during their law school career. The rules described here do not apply to advanced clinics for students who are continuing with a clinic in which they were previously enrolled. For information about advanced clinics, please see the course descriptions for those courses. For more information about clinic enrollment and operations, please see the clinic policy document posted on the SLS website.
Offered in Autumn 2025, Spring 2026 at Stanford University.