Tenant's Rights Clinic

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The Tenants' Rights Clinic is designed to allow law students to represent low-income tenants in litigation and administrative hearings. Cases primarily involve evictions from public and subsidized housing, terminations of Section 8, and denial of affordable housing applications.

Each student will be assigned several cases during the semester and may:

• Represent tenants to help them avoid homelessness and preserve their housing
• Represent clients at mediation, administrative hearings or court
• Interview clients, investigate cases, and research legal issues
• Negotiate with opposing parties, draft pleadings and discovery
• Represent resident councils and groups of residents who want to improve their living conditions

While most cases will involve some appearance in court or in an administrative forum, the number of appearances will be dependent on the cases assigned. Some cases may go to trial; most will settle. There may also be some opportunities for appellate advocacy.

Class Time Commitment & Requirement

The Clinic is a graded, 6 credit hour, one semester clinic. This clinic entails a very substantial time commitment in addition to the time spent preparing for and attending class meetings. The Clinic has a classroom component on Wednesdays from 3-5 p.m. at LSGMI. Students are also required to hold office hours at LSGMI for 12 hours each week. Because students will be representing clients, hearings may be scheduled in court on short notice and outside the scheduled clinic hours.

Prerequisites

Preference is given to students with Certified Legal Intern (CLI) status, but it is not required.