Clinic Times. Inside: In the end, the trial experience was deeply rewarding. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL

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1 THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL Clinic Times Fall 2002 A NEWSLETTER OF THE CLINICS Inside: Take a Clinic, Try a Case Environmental Law Practicum Targets Ohio Lakes & Rivers Legal Asstistance for Urban Communities Clinic Learning the Law, Saving a Life Correcting Injustice Take a Clinic, Try a Case On the way to Monroe on the day of trial, I felt as if the car were speeding at 70 miles an hour through the early morning light to my certain doom. I couldn t imagine my life continuing after the trial, and I was overcome with a nervousness I have rarely experienced. I was certain that I would draw a blank at the first objection, or that I would lose my place during the direct exams. I pictured my voice shaking and my knees trembling. I was in bad shape. There was no logical explanation for this feeling. I had spent most of my Christmas break preparing for trial. I had read absolutely every word in every document. I had made outlines. I had drawn charts. When I had bumped into some hard facts or a gap in our story, I was able to consult with my supervisor and try to keep the whole presentation making sense. I had come from the first draft of my closing, which did not even persuade me, to a complete case, exams, and arguments that really held together, or so it felt until I got into the car that morning. The judge asked if we were ready for trial. This was a rhetorical question In the end, the trial experience was deeply rewarding. really. I answered yes because that was what we were there to do, and the trial started. All of the preparation paid off. I was nervous for the opening, and barely remember it, but I got through it pretty much as planned. When the direct exams started, I was doing better. I knew what I was doing, I knew what the witnesses would say, and I knew what questions I needed to ask them. The first objection threw me for a loop. My response was less than great, but I got through it. By the next objection I did better, and I wasn t nervous any longer. I knew everything about the case. I knew what I wanted my witnesses to say, and I knew why I wanted them to say it. Nervousness was not an option any longer. The case was turning out to be very, very close. It was apparent from some of the judge s questions that he had strong reservations about term-inating the parents rights. I focused my energy on presenting our evidence in the best possible way to convince the judge. Cross-examination, which I had feared more than anything, turned out to be a challenge but not an overwhelming one. I ended up completely re-organizing and rewriting my closing, and by the time I delivered it, I hardly needed to look at my notes. continued on page 2

2 Continued from page 1 Advocate Take a Clinic, Try a Case In the end, the trial experience was deeply rewarding. I was able to throw myself into preparation in a way that I have difficulty doing in other classes, and I became immersed in the details of the case for three weeks. Although the decision didn t go our way, I was proud of the trial that we put on. My supervisor helped me tremendously at each stage of the process; he gave me great guidance during the preparation, provided me with support and advice during the trial, and gave me useful feedback afterwards. Sara Woodward, 02 WINTER 2003 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CLINIC This Winter-Spring Term Professors Bridget McCormack and Anne Schroth will offer a 7-credit Domestic Violence Clinic. The course will explore the legal predicament of women in abusive relationships. Students in the clinic will handle a mixed case-load of civil divorce cases and criminal misdemeanor assault cases. Find a course description on line and register using the pull-down tab for the DVC. Take a Clinic, Open Your Eyes The Child Advocacy Law Clinic offered me the valuable opportunity to combine my interests in family law, psychology, and litigation. My experience in CALC certainly lived up to its promise. I co-wrote an appellate brief, cochaired two actual trials, conducted one mock trial, and participated in many class discussions about the psychological components of our cases. While my law school courses developed my ability to articulate different sides of an argument, my CALC experience challenged me to apply this outside the academic environment. CALC is unique in that the students are expected to represent each party (in different cases) involved in abuse and neglect litigation. We had the chance to act as the guardian ad litem (representing the child s best interests), the prosecuting attorney (for the Family Independence Agency [ FIA ]), and the parent s attorney, in our several assigned cases. At one point my partner and I were representing the FIA in a case in one jurisdiction, and a parent in a case in another jurisdiction. Our experience representing the parent led us to question the FIA s position in our other case. As the parent s attorney, we were met with a resistance we had not encountered before, and we also got to hear the parent s story firsthand. This perspective helped us to better understand the parent s experience in these cases and forced us to consider the intricacies of the case beyond the written record. Questioning our stance in the case was one of the most valuable lessons I learned in the clinic. I think the clinic opens your eyes and encourages this type of learning experience. Alessandra Testa, 00 The Child Advocacy Law Clinic provides students with an in-depth, interdisciplinary experience in problems of child abuse and neglect and of children in foster care. 2 Fall 2002

3 Take a Clinic, Get a Job! I recall our representation of a young woman in a civil commitment hearing. We worked with our client, prepared her for trial, and then participated in a jury trial. Afterward, we had the chance to discuss the outcome with the jury. I can t imagine a better law school experience it gave me my first glimpse of what being a lawyer is all about and was certainly the closest thing to the real practice of law that I experienced in law school. The practical training, the faculty and staff contact, and the hands-on lawyering opportunities in meaningful cases, were all fantastic. The clinic helped me understand the excitement of the legal profession and its importance. I know that I came to my first law firm job better prepared as a result of my clinic experience. Now as a practicing lawyer in a large firm, I value those law students who have a clinical law background. Tom Froehle, 87 Managing Partner Baker & Daniels Indianapolis, IN Environmental Law Practicum Targets Ohio s Lakes and Rivers With the help of the Environmental Law Practicum, a coalition of conservation organizations filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October Prompted by the agency s failure to require Ohio to clean up its polluted waterways, the National Wildlife Federation joined two Ohio organizations in filing a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act in the U.S. District Court in Columbus. Photograph by Laura Shiltz More than 850 waterways in Ohio, including all the major rivers in the state, are officially classified as impaired by pollution. Contamination sources vary, but causes include mercury from power plants, runoff from construction sites and fields, industrial discharges, and contaminated sediments. In over 20 years, the state has submitted only two clean-up plans to EPA, and only one of those has been approved. Ohio s failure even to develop plans in more than 20 years means the EPA is obligated to develop the clean-up plans itself and order Ohio to implement them, said Neil Kagan, Director of the Environmental Law Practicum and the National Wildlife Federation attorney bringing the lawsuit. Now, time has run out. Since the state won t act, the EPA needs to step in to protect Ohio s people and wildlife from water pollution. Clinic student Sanne Knudsen worked on the complaint, interviewed witnesses, and drafted affidavits. The Environmental Law Practicum allowed me to work on substantive environmental issues in a thoughtful atmosphere. I was directly involved in the Ohio case. Later I helped prepare (NWF attorney) Neil Kagan for oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Clinic gave me a chance to litigate cutting-edge environmental issues, and it gave me a better understanding of the work of attorneys at leading CLINICS NEWSLETTER Continued on page 4 The Environmental Law Practicum offers hands-on lawyering experience in cases drawn from the judicial, administrative, and legislative docket of the National Wildlife Federation s Great Lakes Natural Resource Center in Ann Arbor. 3

4 Continued from page 3 environmental groups like the NWF. I chose the Environmental Law Practicum because it was only three credits it let me apply my legal skills to front-line environmental issues without committing more time than I could afford. I highly recommend it. Sanne Knudsen, 02 Why Take the Legal Assistance for Urban Communities Clinic? Make a difference! We work with non-profit community organizations to revitalize Detroit neighborhoods by building affordable housing. For example, the Clinic teamed with a client, U-SNAP- BAC, over a period of seven years to transform run-down vacant lots into a thriving neighborhood that is now home to 40 families. Together, the Clinic and U-SNAP-BAC faced innumerable challenges, ranging from funding the project to acquiring the necessary land (from private parties as well as from the City of Detroit). LAUC is the only transactional clinic at the Law School. In class, you learn how to incorporate a non-profit corporation, qualify for tax-exempt status, and apply for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Working one-on-one with a faculty supervisor, you will apply these skills to further the interests of your clients. Participation in this Clinic gives you a more realistic taste of the practice of law than experiences in summer associate programs. Your faculty supervisor has the time to teach you how to advocate effectively for your clients when dealing with third parties (like private banks). In addition, you will develop a better understanding of your responsibility to your clients. Cheryl A. Leanza, 95, Deputy Director, Media Access Project, on the LAUC Clinic: The LAUC provided a solid foundation for my present job as a public interest lawyer and advocate in media policy. The clinic showed me how a public interest organization can achieve social change and improvement through many different approaches-through direct legal representation, community work, and public and legislative advocacy. It familiarized me with the workings of small community non-profits which continues to aid me every day as a professional in the non-profit sector. Professor Lento is a solid role model for those who wish to make a career in community economic development or any public interest or transactional field. Take a Clinic, Get to Know Faculty... By the time I reached third year, I really needed a change of pace from my other courses. It was great to get some real world experience. But for me the best part of the clinic was that I was able to build relationships and work as colleagues with members of the faculty. Unlike in most of my other courses, the faculty really got to know each student. They took an interest in me both my aspirations and in developing my skills. The clinic was one of the most valuable experiences of my time at Michigan. Helene T. Krasnoff, 97 Staff Attorney Planned Parenthood Federation of America Washington, D.C. 4 Fall 2002

5 THE CIVIL LITIGATION CLINIC: LEARNING THE LAW, SAVING A LIFE I registered for the Civil Litigation Clinic because I thought it would provide a valuable experience preparing me for practice. I was not disappointed. What I was most thankful for, though, were the unexpected lessons. By my own choice, most of my clinic work was spent on one case. My client was a prisoner with hepatitis C who would die without a liver transplant. The case centered on whether the Department of Corrections would cooperate in getting him placed on the list for a transplant, and, if a liver became available, pay for the procedure. The case was the first of its kind in Michigan and had the potential to set important precedent. Many public health experts predict a national hepatitis C crisis, fueled by the invisible epidemic in the nation s prison system. The case was demanding and emotionally difficult because of the stakes. In November 2001, after almost a year of litigation, the doctors finally approved my client for transplant listing. Then a doctor called to tell me that the listing would be delayed by at least six months. I had to pass on the news to my client. We both knew that it meant that his small chance of survival had just gotten a lot smaller. Last term we worked hard to undo this delay. I had to subpoena physical evidence from Texas through a federal court there. The evidence went to a lab in Canada for DNA testing. My work has given me a poignant opportunity to view the role of an attorney, and it has changed the way I look at the law. Before the clinic my only experience in the law was working for firms over the summer. Unlike firm work, in the clinic you get to deal with your own clients on a personal level, and to help them in real, tangible, and often significant ways. I worked to save one man s life and to improve the health care and treatment of countless prisoners who may face the same fate. Although not every clinic case involves a life-or-death situation, all the cases give students immense responsibility and the chance to influence their clients lives. Chuck Divine, 02 ADVANCED CLINIC I signed up for the Criminal Clinic following my summer internship at the Office of the Public Defender in San Francisco. After spending a few months assisting attorneys with client interviews and courtroom appearances out there, it was great to be able to finally jump in and do those things on my own. My case load started off light with a few scheduling conferences to ease my partner and me into the courtroom dynamic, and it culminated that semester in an evidentiary hearing, where we were successful in knocking out one of the charges against our client. With this background, I was ready for more and enrolled in the Advanced Clinic. This time, the prisoners rights case I was working on went all the way to trial in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan. And what a fantastic experience -- both personally and professionally. The skills I developed in preparing for this trial have already proven invaluable in my first year as an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in D.C. Because of my clinic experience, I have been better able to assist with several depositions and an arbitration, not to mention that I was much more comfortable participating in the firm s moot court program. I would highly recommend the Michigan Clinical Law Program to any U-M student. Nicole C. Herron, 01 Formerly at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering Now Staff Attorney Northern California Innocence Project 5 CLINICS NEWSLETTER

6 Continued from page 5 THE CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC: CORRECTING INJUSTICE Last term, students Joe Downes, Na Na Park, and Andy Coulouris teamed up to challenge part of Michigan s criminal sentencing laws. Their client had pled guilty to murder in At her sentencing, she was offered the choice of either parolable life or a term of years. Due to an anomaly in the statutes, at that time parolable life was considered to be a better deal because it gave a defendant a chance for an earlier parole. On the good advice of her trial counsel, the client took the parolable life sentence in The parole board put the client on a fast track for parole as early as But somehow her case fell through the cracks. Then in 1992 Governor Engler re-shaped the parole board. From that point on almost no parolable lifers have been released. As the new board says, Life means life. Under current law the board no longer even has to meet with parolable lifers every year it can simply do a file review every fifth year. For the client, the changes in parole law and policy meant that the better deal she took in 1977 has turned out to be the equivalent of mandatory life in prison. Last term Joe, Na Na, and Andy filed a motion for re-sentencing, asking the court to convert their client s parolable life sentence to a term-ofyears sentence, so that she can at long last win her release. Joe, Na Na, and Andy had to research Michigan s sentencing laws and construct arguments to get past issues of res judicata and procedural default. They collected some 60 exhibits for the brief in support of their motion. They also got to work with private Michigan defense lawyers who are litigating cases for other people caught in the same bind. This term student attorneys Tim Bliss and Brian Ray are drafting a similar motion for a new client, while they await the decision of the court in their predecessors case. HOW TO TAKE A CLINIC: A HANDY SIGN-UP GUIDE Clinics and Practicums are open to all 2-L and 3-L students. These courses tend to be oversubscribed and 3-Ls may not have an automatic priority so it is a good idea not to wait until the second semester of your third year to sign up for a Clinic. You increase your odds of getting the course you want by signing up as a 2-L: if you don t get in, you can always try again as a 3-L. When signing up you list your course (or preferences in rank order) from the pull down menu of clinics, practicums, and simulation courses in the first round of registration. For 7-credit clinics you must sign up for all 7 credits both the seminar and the fieldwork. The registrar s computer will then assign you to (at most) one course, which may not be your first choice. You can also sign up for clinics in the second round of registration, though often they will be full, and you will be vying for the wait-list. (For most clinics the wait-list is not ranked, which means that students will not move off the wait-list by number.) Some clinics may also require an interview or statement as part of the sign-up process. Sign up early and often, and good luck. 6 Fall 2002