In Clinical Externship courses, students are placed in settings outside of the law school to be supervised by lawyers who work in those settings. These course include:
Attorney General Program (LL85601; LL85801)
Full-Year course, Total of 13 credits (7 credits received in Fall/6 credits received in Spring, Pass/Fail, 3L's only)
The Attorney General Program provides an intensive full-year clinical experience in civil litigation in the Government Bureau of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General. Students practice under the supervision of a faculty member who is an assistant attorney general in that Bureau. Students work directly with Bureau attorneys in the representation of state agencies and officials in state and federal courts. The clinic teaches litigation skills and strategy and includes the following types of legal work: (1) the drafting of pleadings, motions, discovery requests and responses, and other litigation documents; (2) legal research and writing of briefs in the trial and appellate courts; (3) oral argument in the state courts; and (4) other litigation tasks. Students will be expected to do a significant amount of legal writing. Pursuant to Rule 3:03 of the Supreme Judicial Court, students will argue orally in Superior Court in behalf of state agencies. Students will work on a variety of court cases involving administrative and constitutional law, federal courts, and statutory construction. Students receive written and oral comments on their memoranda and written evaluations of their performance. The overall goal of the program is to provide an in-depth exposure to administrative and constitutional law and related issues, in the context of a high-level practice that deals with these issues on a daily basis.
The clinical program includes a weekly two-hour seminar on litigation skills, substantive law topics, and the discussion of student work. Topics include state and federal jurisdiction, administrative law and procedure, drafting litigation documents, motion practice, discovery, trial preparation, appellate practice, and the role of state attorneys general. The seminar for the fall semester is usually held on Wednesday afternoon from 12:30-2:30 p.m.; the time for Spring semester seminar is scheduled after consultation with the class.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas A. Barnico will interview and admit six third-year students to the program. Students must commit 20 hours per week (exclusive of commuting time) to the program at the Attorney General's Office. This normally requires two full days and one half day at the office. Students will receive 13 credits for the full year (seven in the Fall semester and six credits in the Spring semester). Course satisfies the upper-level professional responsibility and writing requirements. The course is graded on a pass-fail basis
International Criminal Tribunal: Theory and Practice Seminar (LL62101; LL67001; LL67401)
One semester (Fall and Spring), 13 credits (7 clinical credits, pass/fail; 3 seminar credits, pass/fail; 3 research project credits, graded)
This program offers a unique opportunity to work on-site in either the fall or spring semester at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) or the newly-established International Criminal Court (ICC), both located in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICTY, established by the UN Security Council in 1993, is charged with prosecuting and trying persons allegedly responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the former Yugoslavia during the conflict resulting from the breakup of that country. The ICC, which came into being in 2002, was created to serve as a standing tribunal to try war criminals in a wider variety of situations. The goals of the program are provisions of a meaningful educational experience, instruction in international law, and exposure to different legal cultures. Typical work includes the investigation of pending cases and drafting of indictments in a setting that is one of the principal focal points for the current development of international law. This program also offers the unusual opportunity to "learn by doing" in the area of international law and to identify long-term academic and career options in the field.
Students will work with and report to Phillip Weiner in the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor for approximately 30 hours per week. A three-hour required course will be offered under the general supervision of Professor Weiner. The course will include training by professional staff in the Office of the Prosecutor. Students will maintain a daily journal, which will be reviewed by Professor Weiner and Professor Kanstroom. Among other things, Professor Weiner will provide feedback on work product, planned work assignments, exposure to the various aspects of lawyering, and mini-lectures. Students will also prepare an independent research paper of approximately 30 pages in length, which will be reviewed by Professor Kanstroom. Students will receive 13 credits for the semester, of which 7 pass/fail credits are allocated for their placement work, 3 pass/fail credits for the course with Professor Weiner, and 3 graded credits for the research project and presentation. There is no final examination; instead evaluation for the seminar will be based on written and oral performance on-site and in the written research project. Enrollment is by application and permission of the instructors and is limited to three third-year students.
London Program (LL51001; LL52001; LL53001; LL54001)
One semester (Spring only), 13 credits (9 clinical credits, pass/fail; 4 classroom credits, graded)
Prerequisites: European Union Law
The London Program is given each Spring Semester at King's College London. The on-site Director, Daniel Kanstroom, teaches a course and a seminar in London. The Advanced European Law and King's College course are taught by members of the King's College Law School faculty.
The Program has two major components, one classroom based, and the other experiential. The classroom component consists of four courses. In the fall semester, all students intending to go to London must take, (or have previously) taken, an introductory course in European Union Law. In London, students take two required courses, Introduction to British Law and Institutions and European Community Competition Law, and choose an additional master's level course from the King's College Law School curriculum. In the past, students have taken courses in International Environmental Law, International Business Transactions, European Internal Market, The Theory and Practice of Parliament, International Securities Regulation and the Law of Treaties. Papers will be required for some of these courses, including the Introduction to British Law and Institutions course.
The centerpiece of the London Program is its internship component. This represents an effort to replicate, in a foreign setting, some of the features of the law school's highly successful Semester in Practice program. Students in London have worked with a number of non-profit human rights and environmental organizations, including, Interights, Liberty, Justice, Article 19 as well the Financial Services Authority, and several major London law firms. The students spend 20 to 25 hours per week at their placement, work under close supervision, and maintain journals relating to their research, writing and observations. These are then discussed at a regularly scheduled Seminar led by the Director. In addition, students visit legal and political institutions, and have library privileges at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies which is also part of London University.
The London Program seeks to supplement the educational process at Boston College Law School by exposing students firsthand to a different legal culture. The Program is designed to provide students with a critical insight into comparative legal institutions, and prepare them for international law practice, with special emphasis on international regulatory process, whether in environmental or securities regulation, human rights law, antitrust, intellectual property or other arenas.
Through seminars and working experience, Boston College students develop further understandings of the similarities and differences between British, European and American law and institutions. The classroom and clinical experience combined with the daily aspects of life in a foreign environment broadens the students' legal education in a unique way. The London experience allows students to maximize their education in European and comparative law while maintaining the high academic standards of Boston College Law School.
A maximum of ten students are selected to participate. Third year students have preference in selection. Although there is no GPA requirement, some of our placements require an excellent academic record. The On-Site Director makes the placement assignments. Every effort is made to find a good match for students and placements. Students will be notified if they have been selected or are on the waiting list, early in the Fall semester.
Semester in Practice (LL45901; LL48901)
One semester (Fall and Spring) 13 credits (10 clinical credits, pass/fail; 3 classroom credits, graded)
*With Director's permission, 11 credits (8 clinical credits, pass/fail/ 3 clasroom credits, graded)
Unique among BC Law's' clinical offerings, this limited enrollment, semester course is designed to maximize students' ability to improve their lawyering skills while observing experienced local lawyers and judges. Students spend approximately 30 hours per week at their placement, or, with the Director's permission, 24 hours per week, and attend a weekly classroom seminar. Students receive 10 credits for 30 hours or 8 credits for 24 hours of work at a placement (pass/fail) and 3 credits for the seminar (graded).
Generally, students chose their placement from a pre-existing pool of opportunities that includes diverse subject areas (labor, civil rights, environmental, business law, etc.) and diverse settings (government, law firms, public interest groups, in-house counsel, judicial clerkships, etc.). It is also possible under certain circumstances for students to obtain their own placements, subject to approval of the Director.
In class, students analyze the lawyering process through readings, discussion, and student presentations. Students will be asked to prepare written assignments in which they reflect on their experience and readings, and to keep a daily journal. The Director monitors individual placements to ensure the supervising attorney is providing a significant educational experience including the following: feedback on work product, planned work assignments, exposure to the various aspects of lawyering, and mini-lectures.
There are no formal prerequisites; however, it is felt by the Administration that students with a GPA of 2.5 or below cannot afford to miss a semester of classes. This is not an absolute exclusion, merely a strong recommendation.
Third-year students receive priority in the fall; second-year students have a preference in the spring. There is no final exam; seminar grade based on evaluation of written and oral performance on assignments; placement grade based on evaluation of fieldwork. Course satisfies the upper-level professional responsibility and writing requirements. Enrollment is limited to 15 students by lottery.
