USF Law Clinics

Eric Randall
Clinic Administrator (415) 422-6752

In-House Live Client Clinical Programs

The law school’s first in-house, live client practice program was a criminal defense clinic started in 1972. Over the years, this program grew and evolved into what is now called the USF Law Clinic, a teaching law firm operated by USF faculty and students.

In the innovative components of the USF Law Clinic, under the direction of experienced faculty members, students represent real clients through judicial and administrative proceedings in a wide range of civil, criminal defense and juvenile law cases. The components of the USF Law Clinic are:

Child Advocacy Clinic

In the Child Advocacy Clinic, students receive training and, under the supervision of the Clinic Director, represent abused, neglected or abandoned children in all aspects of child welfare proceedings. Clinic activities include interviewing clients, investigation, writing and responding to motions, and court appearances on behalf of clients in San Francisco Superior and Juvenile Courts as well as the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court.

Civil Law Mediation Clinic

Students in the Civil Law Mediation Clinic have the opportunity to apply dispute resolution skills by serving as mediators in cases brought in the San Francisco Small Claims Court. These mediations involve most areas of the law except criminal and family law matters. After intensive training, clinic students conduct the mediations and draft settlement agreements for parties who are able to resolve their disputes.

Criminal Juvenile Defense Clinic

A successor to our first in-house program, the Criminal Defense Clinic remains a core component of the USF Law Clinic. Students enrolled in the Criminal Defense Clinic represent indigent defendants in all phases of criminal proceedings, from arraignment through trial and appeal. They also represent defendants in juvenile court delinquency proceedings.

Employment Discrimination Mediation Clinic

In the Employment Discrimination Mediation Clinic students represent clients in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mediations involving alleged discrimination. Students investigate claims and prepare cases for mediation. As part of their preparation to represent the client at the mediation, students develop the theory of the case, determine damages, and write a mediation brief. Upon successful resolution of the case, the students prepare a settlement agreement. In addition, students become involved in wage and hour disputes before the California Labor Commissioner. The clinic assists clients of the Instituto Laboral de la Raza, a nonprofit workers' rights organization that addresses the needs of low income workers and their families throughout the Bay Area.

Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Clinic

USF’s innovative International Human Rights Clinic focuses on critical human rights issues, including child labor, application of the death penalty to juveniles, and trafficking in women. Participating students research and prepare presentations for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Many of the students personally present their case to the Commission at its headquarters in Geneva, or to the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Students may also work on briefs raising international law issues in US courts or represent individual clients before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Internet/Intellectual Property Justice Clinic

The Internet/Intellectual Property Justice Clinic provides legal services to parties who need assistance with a variety of intellectual property matters. The legal work is performed by students under the direction of full-time faculty members assisted by adjunct professors.

The Clinic is a partner of the Electric Frontier Foundation, assisting in domain name disputes in ICANN online dispute resolution proceedings. It also assists parties with copyright infringement notifications and counter notifications under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, as well as with other trademark and copyright matters. The Project is also a partner in “Chilling Effects,” a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and law school clinics at Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, and Maine. Chilling effects helps the public understand the protections that the First Amendment and intellectual property laws provide for online activities.

Investor Justice Clinic

In the Investor Justice Clinic students represent investors in actions involving allegations of wrongdoing by securities firms and/or their employees. Students appear in arbitrations and other proceedings before the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as well as the NYSE Arca (formerly the Pacific Stock Exchange).

Predatory Lending Law Clinic

The Predatory Lending Clinic is offered as a clinical component of the Predatory Lending Law and Practice course. The course covers federal and state protections against predatory lending practices, including the Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Unfair Business Practices Act. Practical training is provided on interviewing techniques, case planning, discovery, drafting, and working with clients who have cultural and language differences. Clinical placements send students to many local agencies, including the California reinvestment Coalition, several local Legal Aid offices, Adult Protective Services, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, as well as to local law firms engaged in pro bono predatory lending work.