Our award-winning clinics are exceptional training grounds to gain real-world lawyering skills. Under close faculty supervision, clinic students represent clients, engage in public policy advocacy and litigation, and advance social justice issues in Miami and across the globe. For many students, participating in a clinic provides a competitive edge in the job market and is one of the most rewarding law school experiences.
BANKRUPTCY CLINIC
Patricia Redmond, Director & Lecturer in Law, Adjunct Faculty
Allison Day, Supervising Attorney & Lecturer in Law, Adjunct Faculty
The Eleanor R. Cristol and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic at Miami Law provides pro bono legal services to low-income individuals who are dealing with bankruptcy. Students work on real cases in bankruptcy court with the guidance of mentors from some of South Florida’s leading bankruptcy practices. The clinic also offers unparalleled networking opportunities, and the students attend bankruptcy bar events.
CHILDREN & YOUTH LAW CLINIC
Bernard Perlmutter & Kele Stewart, Professors of Law & Co-Directors
Robert Latham, Lecturer in Law & Associate Director
Wide-ranging individual and policy advocacy on behalf of children or young adults in the foster care system is the focus of this clinic. Under the supervision of clinical faculty, students handle court and administrative cases, including dependency, health and disability, guardianship, education, immigration, and other civil matters. They also collaborate with forensic psychiatrists as well as social work, public health, and education faculty and graduate students to advocate for the rights of young people.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CLINIC
Douglas Ruley, Associate Professor of Clinical Legal Education & Director
Abigail Fleming, Lecturer in Law & Associate Director
The Environmental Justice Clinic educates, trains, and inspires the next generation of leaders and advocates for equitable and regenerative environments. We work with students, clients, and partners on environmental cases and campaigns in communities of color in Miami and South Florida. Our priorities are the climate crisis, pollution, and the built environment, issues that dramatically affect the communities we represent and embody core components of a just transition to a healthy environment for all.
HEALTH RIGHTS CLINIC
JoNel Newman, Professor of Law & Director
Melissa Swain, Lecturer in Law & Associate Director
In this Medical-Legal Partnership students provide direct representation to low-income, underserved, health-impaired clients. This intense high-volume interdisciplinary “teaching hospital” model integrates legal assistance as a vital component of solving the health-related legal problems of vulnerable populations. Students represent clients in individual Social Security, immigration and other federal and state hearings, and assist clients with health insurance, food stamps and other public benefits.
MIAMI LAW CLINICS
HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC
Caroline Bettinger-López, Professor of Law & Director
Tamar Ezer, Lecturer in Law & Associate Director
The Human Rights Clinic works for the promotion of social and economic justice globally and in the U.S., Students gain firsthand experience in cutting-edge human rights litigation and advocacy at the local, national, regional, and international levels. This includes engagement with the Inter-American Court and Commission on Human Rights, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, U.S. and foreign courts, and other tribunals. The Clinic draws on international and domestic law and engages in multidimensional advocacy, including documentation, litigation, media, legislative work, and community organizing. Focus areas include gender and racial justice, immigrant and Indigenous women’s rights, and the rights to housing, health, and food.
IMMIGRATION CLINIC
Rebecca Sharpless, Professor of Law & Director & Associate Dean for Experiential Learning
Andrea Jacoski, Lecturer in Law & Associate Director
The Immigration Clinic provides students with challenging and rewarding opportunities to litigate and advance the cause of social justice for immigrants. Under faculty supervision, second- and third-year students appear in immigration court to defend people facing deportation who are often in immigration detention. Students handle all aspects of their cases as the primary case handler, including client and witness interviewing, document gathering, and presenting cases in court.
INNOCENCE CLINIC
Craig Trocino, Associate Professor of Clinical Legal Education & Director
The Miami Law Innocence Clinic is a live-client in-house clinic where students represent innocent individuals wrongly convicted. These cases can proceed in state trial courts, state appellate courts, and federal courts. The clinic is dedicated to identifying and exonerating innocent individuals incarcerated in Florida, combating injustice, and preventing wrongful convictions through proactive policy change.
INVESTOR RIGHTS CLINIC
Scott Eichhorn, Associate Professor of Clinical Legal Education & Director
Melanie Cherdack, Lecturer in Law & Associate Director
This one-semester, live-client clinic provides students with the opportunity to represent low- to modest income individuals who have suffered financial losses due to broker misconduct in securities arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Students conduct factual and legal research and evaluation of clients’ investments and legal claims. Under experienced attorney supervision, students handle all aspects of researching, filing, and trying a FINRA arbitration proceeding on behalf of clinic clients, including communications with clients and opposing counsel as well as settlement negotiations or mediation. Students also participate in regulatory advocacy to shape investor protection policy.
STARTUP CLINIC
Jaime Vining, Director & Lecturer in Law, Adjunct Faculty
Adrian E. Alvarez, Supervising Attorney & Lecturer in Law, Adjunct Faculty
The Startup Clinic connects Miami Law students with new ventures in need of legal assistance. Students in the Startup Clinic help clients with organizing, financing, talent, intellectual property, risk, regulation, and other legal issues that arise for entrepreneurs as they launch their new businesses and organizations.
