EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM
DePaul College of Law’s Experiential Learning Program empowers you to “learn by doing,” transforming classroom knowledge into practical solutions for real-world legal challenges. Rooted in our mission to deliver a communityengaged education that shapes purpose-driven lawyers, this program enables you to tackle diverse legal issues within the Chicago community. Under the mentorship of seasoned attorneys and distinguished law faculty, you apply your theoretical knowledge in meaningful, impactful ways.
Our comprehensive program offers a dynamic array of hands-on learning experiences:
• Our externship program allows you to gain real-world experience and build professional connections.
• Through our legal clinics you engage directly with clients under the supervision of experienced faculty.
• Our student moot court and trial competitions help you hone your advocacy skills in a competitive environment.
• Through our comprehensive legal writing program and academic journals you develop advanced writing skills and can contribute to legal scholarship.
• Our practicums , wide variety of professional skills courses , and Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative help you further sharpen your practical skills and allow you give back to the community.
These elements work together to immerse you in the practical application of law, equipping you with the knowledge and skills needed for a successful legal career.
EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM
DePaul College of Law’s Externship Program bridges the gap between the theory and practice, allowing students to engage in the legal work typically encountered by attorneys while also developing their professional identities.
Student externs engage in actual legal work in carefully selected settings under the guidance of supervising attorneys. They also enroll in a companion externship seminar taught by seasoned practitioners who are experts in their respective fields. There, they explore ethical issues that may arise, learn about the daily practice of law, and link their externship work to topics in the law through case rounds, facilitated discussions and directed readings.
Over the past academic year, DePaul Law offered over 180 externship opportunities, allowing student externs to gain the practical real-world experiences and professional connections that often prove to be competitive advantages when entering the job market. They worked on-site with a wide range of government agencies, members of the judiciary, nonprofit organizations, as well as for-profit institutions such as private law firms and corporate legal departments, including, among others:
BUSINESS LAW
• Accenture
• Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel
FAMILY LAW
• Center for Disability and Elder Law
• Cook County Public Guardian
HEALTH LAW
• American Dental Association
• American Medical Association
IMMIGRATION LAW AND ASYLUM LAW
• Chicago Family & Immigration Services
• Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
• Arch & Lake, LLP
• Quest Software
PUBLIC INTEREST LAW
• Ascend Justice
• Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
STUDENT
Anna Greer (JD ’24)
“Lectures and reading cases can only take a student so far—the real education is found in the courtroom. Through my externship with the Cook County Public Defender’s Felony Trial Division, I received hands-on training in how to advocate for actual clients, and as a judicial extern with the Northern District of Illinois, I was introduced to judicial decision-making and writing in actual cases. Experiential learning has made me a better student, and it will make me a better lawyer.”
Sean Maloney (JD ’24)
“My time as a judicial extern has allowed me to witness our judicial system in action and apply what I’ve learned in law school to analyze ongoing cases in various areas of law. It is an incredible opportunity to observe what goes on in a judge’s chambers and learn from the various attorneys that appear before the court. My experience has taught me many practical skills that will allow me to hit the ground running upon entering the legal profession.”
Ellerese Topacio (JD ’24)
“The externship seminar provided me with a forum to share, reflect and articulate my experiences with the Federal Defender Program, the agency where I externed. DePaul’s experiential learning courses have allowed me to practice what I learned in the classroom by applying my knowledge to real world situations. I feel secure and confident in my everevolving legal skillset, and I’m not afraid to take professional risks and learn new things daily.”
FACULTY PERSPECTIVES
“The DePaul externship seminar is a truly unique, beneficial and enjoyable student-centric educational experience. Students enjoy being the distinct focus of a law school program: identifying their career goals, learning needed practitioner skills, overcoming challenges, and maximizing their future professional identity and reputation.”
ANTHONY MASCIOPINTO
Owner, Kulwin, Masciopinto & Kulwin LLP; Adjunct Professor of Law, DePaul University
“The students–my future colleagues–continually impress me. We learn from each other as we share experiences and insight all while delving into the professional and ethical responsibilities of attorneys, the intricacies of the legal profession and each student’s own emerging legal career. It is exciting to be part of a student’s journey to define their own priorities and values in the context of their future legal path, a process that is both enlightening and crucial for personal growth.”
JENNIFER PAGANESSI FISHER
Attorney, Howard & Howard; Adjunct Professor of Law, DePaul University
LEGAL CLINICS
DePaul’s legal clinics help students sharpen their lawyering skills through direct client representation under the supervision of experienced faculty members. The program offers seven distinct clinics, and each provides a classroom component focused on the clinic’s substantive area of law, while also teaching important practical skills. Through our legal clinics, students gain legal practice experience in business law, health law, intellectual property and information technology, public interest, family law, international human rights, as well as in civil and criminal litigation.
ASYLUM & IMMIGRATION LAW
Clinic students represent victims of crime and domestic violence seeking immigration benefits before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. consulates abroad, as well as representing applicants for naturalization. The clinic partners with nonprofits that serve immigrants throughout the state with the goal of improving access to information and representation for low-income immigrants and refugees. Students contribute to this advocacy community through research, training, developing and sharing resources and materials to enhance the scope and quality of services, while addressing matters, including asylum and other humanitarian benefits, family reunification, naturalization and deportation defense.
ASYLUM & IMMIGRATION LAW CLINIC HIGHLIGHTS
Professor of Legal Practice Sioban Albiol , director of the Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic, received the Leah Duckett Public Service Award at Life Span’s annual gala in September 2023. Albiol has provided invaluable expert advice and support to Life Span, whose clients are survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
All individuals assisted at the clinic were successful in completing their asylum applications and getting their cases removed from the “rocket docket,” allowing them additional time to develop facts and evidence and obtain appropriate counsel going forward.
In June 2024, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice launched a “rocket docket” for certain single adults recently arrived in the U.S. to have their cases heard within 180 days, making it difficult for respondents to obtain counsel given the current strain on immigration legal services. Clinic attorneys, accompanied by First Generation Law Program (FGLP) interns attended one of the first “rocket docket” calls to provide information and resources to pro se respondents and offered to assist pro se respondents at an asylum clinic. Clinic attorneys and FGLP interns met with recently arrived migrants, assisted them in completing their asylum applications and identified issues making their placement on the “rocket docket” inappropriate given age, capacity and family relationships and assisted with appropriate motions.
Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic alumni, faculty and students also assisted Southwest border arrivals by volunteering at pro se assisted asylum workshops organized by community-based partner organization, The Resurrection Project, in September and November 2023.
Joceline Carrera (JD ’25)
“The Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic has been a great way for me to learn more about this area of law, as well as how to handle different situations lawyers might find themselves in when working with clients. With the professors’ help and guidance, I was able to overcome expected and unexpected challenges throughout the semester.”
BUSINESS LAW
The Business Law Clinic was the first, and remains the law school’s only, in-house legal clinic dedicated solely to transactional business work. The clinic’s success is due to the vision and dedication of its founder, Professor Julie Lawton, and its director, Steven Wiser, who created an innovative and collaborative learning opportunity for our students. Through this clinic, law students are embedded with graduate students from DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business and Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media. Together, they provide wraparound financial, information security and legal services to women-owned and BIPOC-owned businesses, creating a vibrant incubator-type setting for clinic clients and providing law students with a collaborative practice experience in business and entrepreneurship law, as well as financial and technology consulting.
WAYNE STATE TRANSACTIONAL INVITATIONAL COMPETITION
DePaul law students again competed at the Wayne State Transactional Invitational Competition . At the invitational, students develop drafting, negotiating and counseling skills, with teams representing either the buyer or seller in a complex acquisition. DePaul students Ryley King (JD ‘24), Betsy Pisabaj (JD ‘24) and Kaitlin Stanfield (JD ‘24), coached by Business Clinic Director Steven Wiser and Adjunct Professor Eric Zhi, competed and tied for second place in drafting.
Tiffany Cole (JD ’23)
Associate, Mayer Brown “Being a part of DePaul’s Business Law Clinic was probably one of the smartest decisions I made in law school. Finding a course that gives you application, real world clients and personalities, team building, or guidance from current practicing attorneys is hard to come by and even harder to find in one class. That experience is extremely valuable in preparing a student for their career and confirming that this is the type of law they wish to practice.”
Joseph Ranieri (JD ’23)
Assoicate, Clingen Callow & McLean LLC
“The Business Law Clinic is the best decision I have made in law school. Getting a year’s worth of real, practical legal experience as a student has been invaluable. I have learned countless valuable lessons that I will take into my career and for the rest of my life. Whether it be conferencing with our amazing clients, analyzing and solving novel legal issues with tangible implications, or building genuine professional and personal connections with my fellow students and the faculty, my experience in the Business Law Clinic has been nothing short of fantastic. I highly recommend this clinic to anyone considering it.”
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Kaitlin Stanfield (JD ’24), Ryley King (JD ’24) and Betsy Pisabaj (JD ’24).
CIVIL LITIGATION & HEALTH LAW
Civil Litigation & Health Law Clinic students represent clients in civil litigation and administrative hearings in various legal matters, including eviction, employment and consumer law, and breaches of contract. Students interview clients and witnesses; draft pleadings, discovery requests, discovery responses and dispositive motions; and engage in settlement negotiations, trial work and, if necessary, appellate practice. Through this clinic, students gain knowledge and skills that they can use in any litigation environment.
CRIMINAL APPEALS
Criminal Appeals Clinic students represent clients convicted of felony or misdemeanor offenses in appeals pending before the Illinois Appellate Court. Working under the supervision of attorneys from the Office of the State Appellate Defender, students review the trial records, confer with clients, research the law, and draft and file briefs with the appellate court to represent their clients. Students may also argue cases before the Illinois Appellate Court under a 711 license
CROAK COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINIC
Croak Community Legal Clinic students learn about issues of access to justice and provide legal workshops and presentations on specified topics to DePaul University students and the broader Chicago community in both civil and criminal law. Students work in teams to develop and present “Know-Your-Rights” workshops. This clinic provides experiential learning opportunities for students interested in community organizing, community education and community empowerment.
FAMILY LAW
The Family Law Field Clinic provides legal assistance with marriage, divorce, invalidity of marriage, legal separation, parentage and adoption through a partnership with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. Students are given the opportunity to handle a variety of family law cases. The clinic also is a two-time recipient of the Illinois Bar Foundation grant, which supports organizations that provide meaningful access to the civil justice system, especially for those with limited means.
TECHNOLOGY & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
In the Technology & Intellectual Property Law (TIP ®) Field Clinic, students work off-site with law firms and partner organizations specifically chosen for their ability to expose students to challenging technology, intellectual property and other related legal issues. The TIP Clinic also partners with DePaul’s Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM), providing limited scope legal guidance to select CDM students who encounter intellectual property legal issues as part of developing their creative works.
STUDENT MOOT COURT AND TRIAL COMPETITIONS
DePaul has a tradition of graduating exceptional courtroom advocates. Students can gain experience in both appellate and trial advocacy through classroom training and can expand those skills through competitions.
MOOT COURT SOCIETY
DePaul’s nationally ranked moot court team fields student teams in appellate advocacy competitions across the country. To prepare students for their competitions and roles as future lawyers, team members are enrolled in a specialized brief writing course that culminates in the Honorable William J. Bauer Moot Court Competition, an annual intramural appellate competition in which student teams brief a hypothetical appellate problem and argue the case before practicing attorneys and judges. The following semester, students are enrolled in an advanced advocacy class that further hones their appellate training. DePaul’s moot court program is supported by an engaged alumni board made up of former moot court team members who serve as coaches and mentors, a valuable resource for student competitors.
NATIONAL TRIAL TEAM
Students work collaboratively on mock trial competitions against students from other law schools across the country. For each competition, trial team members develop the trial theory and techniques used to try a jury case from start to finish, culminating with students demonstrating their skills in a national mock trial competition. Participating students also are enrolled in a class specifically designed to hone their courtroom skills.
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: 1st Row: Leonard Brahin (JD ’24), Anna Ranger (JD ‘24), Grace Murphy (JD ’24); 2nd Row: Ellerese Topacio (JD ’24), Anna Greer (JD ’24), Katie Onyundo (JD ’24), Syarra Sellers (JD ’25), Addison Wright (JD ’25), Sarah Cartagena (JD ’25), Kaylynn Kattiyaman (JD ’25); 3rd Row: Nicole Bratton (JD ’25), Katelyn Laraia (JD ’25), Sabrina Messar (JD ’24), Megan Fogarty (JD ’25); 4th Row: Dean Pearce (JD ’25), Camila Quinones (JD ’24), Christopher Bogusch (JD ’24), Dan Kinstedt (JD ’25); 5th Row: Beau Reeves (JD ’24), Matt Leonard (JD ’25), Donald Kwasigroch (JD ’24), Brock Imel (JD ’25), Joshua George (JD ’25).
NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION MOOT COURT COMPETITION
The New York City Bar Association Moot Court Competition is the national moot court competition that draws the best teams from around the country. This year, of the 132 teams competing, only 24 advanced to the national competition in New York City, with only two of those 24 teams representing the Midwest region. DePaul advanced to the national competition, and its competition brief ranked 8th nationally.
CHICAGO CUP NATIONAL MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION
This year, DePaul Law cemented its reputation as one of Chicago’s best trial advocacy programs by cocreating and co-sponsoring the Chicago Cup National Mock Trial Competition. DePaul’s mock trial team not only competed in the Chicago Cup, but also made it to the Midwest Regional Finals of the Student Trial Advocacy Competition sponsored by the American Association for Justice.
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Theodore Thomas (coach), Cindy Lawando (JD ’24), Caroline Whang (JD ’24), Haley Miller (JD ’25), Tamsen Cronin (JD ’24) and Emily Bock (coach).
LEGAL WRITING PROGRAM AND ACADEMIC
JOURNALS
LEGAL WRITING PROGRAM
Our Legal Analysis, Research & Communication (LARC) Program is a four-course, required sequence that begins with a rigorous three-semester progression of LARC courses and culminates in one of our advanced upper-level advanced legal writing courses. The writing curriculum introduces students to every facet of the legal reasoning process through research exercises and written assignments, and our first-year LARC courses have dedicated teaching assistants, which means more personalized attention.
Presented through a series of increasingly complex written assignments with progressively advanced research, this required program is designed to provide students with the tools to hone their foundational analytical skills and expression of ideas.
ACADEMIC JOURNALS
Advanced writing courses include, among others:
• Advanced Criminal Appeals Legal Clinic
• Appellate Technique
• Children’s Human Rights Under International Law
• Legal Drafting (multiple topics offered)
• Tax Research & Writing
• Women’s Human Rights Under International Law
DePaul law faculty serve as mentors to their students, providing guidance and expertise in their fields and advising students producing the College of Law’s five academic journals:
• DePaul Law Review
• Business & Commercial Law Journal
• Journal for Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law
• Journal of Health Care Law
• Journal for Social Justice
PRACTICUMS, PROFESSIONAL SKILLS COURSES AND PRO BONO & COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVE
PRACTICUMS
Practicums enable students to simulate legal practice through skills-based offerings taught by experienced practitioners and the law school faculty. By taking these courses, students are able to understand not just the theory of law but also the practice of law in a classroom setting.
• Domestic Violence Practicum: Students examine the criminal system’s response to domestic violence, focusing on the transformation of laws and institutions to address problems historically conceptualized as “private.” The course includes regularly scheduled participation in the Domestic Violence Courthouse Project, where students help pro se litigants seeking to file emergency orders of protection.
• International Human Rights Law Practicum: Students experience the complex and varied approaches to human rights legal advocacy in an international setting. They engage in specific tasks such as writing shadow reports to United Nations (UN) treaty bodies, drafting submissions to UN Special Rapporteurs, preparing individual complaints to UN treaty bodies, and filing complaints with regional human rights commissions. By working closely with grassroots human rights organizations, international non-governmental organizations, UN human rights experts and relevant treaty bodies, students develop a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the field of human rights, while honing their legal skills in real-world contexts.
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS COURSES
The College of Law offers a wide variety of professional skills courses that simulate legal practice through skills-based offerings taught by experienced practitioners and law school faculty. Courses include, among others:
• Anatomy of a Deal: From Inception to Closing
• Business Planning
• Commercial Arbitration
• Legal Drafting
• Litigation Lab
• Litigation Strategy: Pre-Trial, Civil
• Litigation Strategy: Intellectual Property
• Mediation
• Negotiations
• Patent & Trademark Searching
• Practical Legal Research
• Prosecuting & Defending Criminal Cases
• Trial Advocacy I & II
PRO BONO & COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVE (PBCSI)
Litigation Laboratory (“Lit Lab”) is a unique professional skills course where practitioners work collaboratively with students to analyze, critique and develop their live, ongoing cases. Students serve as mock juries, help prepare witnesses, critique appellate arguments, or suggest ways to improve jury instructions or closing arguments. Students later receive feedback from the attorneys on how the cases were resolved.
DePaul College of Law’s Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative (PBCSI) aligns with the college’s strong tradition of service to others and enhancing access to the legal system for the most vulnerable in our community. PBCSI facilitates and encourages student volunteerism with one of PBCSI’s partners or any other nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist disadvantaged individuals or groups. In addition to 1L Service Day held during orientation, students participate in a wide variety of service opportunities throughout the year, including:
• Preparing advanced directives for low-income LGBTQ seniors
• Providing legal help to low-income individuals without attorneys through Illinois Free Legal Answers
• Drafting legal petitions and providing limited-scope consultations for expunging and sealing criminal records
• Performing legal research on police misconduct litigation
• Working with clients over the phone to help them apply for public benefits
• Serving as legal observers during racial justice protests
• Assisting voters through election protection hotlines
2023-2024 EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FACULTY
Martha A. Pagliari
Assistant Dean, Experiential Learning; Professor of Legal Practice, LARC
Michelle Cue
Co-Director & Professor of Legal Practice, LARC
Jody Marcucci
Co-Director & Professor of Legal Practice, LARC
Sioban Albiol
Director, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic; Professor of Legal Practice
James R. Fujimoto
Adjunct Professor & Senior Practitioner in Residence, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic
Steven Wiser
Co-Director, Business Law Clinic; Director, Externship Program
Alexander Bolden
Adjunct Professor, Business Law Clinic
Victoria Gray
Adjunct Professor, Business Law Clinic
Alec Rubenstein
Adjunct Professor, Business Law Clinic
David Rodriguez
Director, Civil Litigation Clinic; Professor of Legal Practice
Hugh O’Donnell
Adjunct Professor, Civil Litigation Clinic
Elizabeth A. Botti
Adjunct Professor, Criminal Appeals Clinic
Maria Harrigan
Adjunct Professor, Criminal Appeals Clinic
Courtney Kelledes
Adjunct Professor, Croak Community Legal Clinic
D’Anthony Thedford
Adjunct Professor, Croak Community Legal Clinic
Shaye Loughlin
Adjunct Professor, Croak Community Legal Clinic; Executive Director, Center for Public Interest Law
Phillip Mohr
Adjunct Professor, Family Law Field Clinic
Robert Zielinski
Adjunct Professor, Family Law Field Clinic
Greg Casimer
Adjunct Professor, TIP Field Clinic
Elisabeth Ward
Adjunct Professor, International Human Rights Law Practicum and Advanced International Human Rights Law Practicum; Executive Director, International Human Rights Law Institute
Danielle Ruffatto
Adjunct Professor, Domestic Violence Practicum
James Clark
Adjunct Professor, Litigation Lab
