Clinic students represent legally underserved individuals, entities, and organizations with a client-centered approach providing much-needed access to justice to some vulnerable populations. Under the guidance of full-time clinical faculty, students obtain the training and experience necessary to launch successful and fulfilling legal careers.
You may apply to participate in legal clinics from a variety of practice areas during your second and third years. As a clinic intern, you will:
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Sharpen your legal skills and broaden your practice experience in a real-life legal setting
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Offer helpful legal services to clients across the Commonwealth, and sometimes across the nation, who cannot afford private legal representation
Whatever your goals, we have a legal clinic that helps you build knowledge and skills for the future. Some clinics teach students litigation skills for the courtroom, some teach appellate and/or administrative law skills (involving public benefits, employment discrimination, access to healthcare, veterans benefits, intellectual property, patent law, and immigration law), others teach transactional, mediation, systemic policy advocacy, and/or legislative drafting skills.
Arts, Sports and Entertainment Law Clinic
The Arts, Sports and Entertainment Law Clinic was founded in 1980 to provide students with relevant experiences aligned with their legal interests and a comfortable atmosphere where clients can discuss their concern with law students.
Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic
Penn State Dickinson Law's Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic (CIRC) is a nationally recognized in-house clinic that provides law students with hands-on clinical training in immigration law through community outreach, pro bono legal support, and policy work.
Children's Advocacy Clinic
The Children’s Advocacy Clinic was established in 2006 as an innovative, interdisciplinary clinical program where law students and graduate social work students represent children in the legal system and work to address problems in the child welfare system.
Civil Rights Appellate Clinic
The Civil Rights Appellate Clinic provides intensive training in appellate advocacy by involving students in noncriminal civil rights cases before the state appellate courts, federal courts of appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Community Law Clinic
For those underserved populations living near or below the poverty line, the Community Law Clinic represents the way forward in matters of family law, disability law, and other areas where they need legal assistance. Students in the clinic have the opportunity to represent clients through every level of the state common pleas court system or the requisite federal court system.
Criminal Appellate and Post-Conviction Services Clinic
The Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic allows students to represent indigent defendants at appellate and post-conviction proceedings. This representation occurs at the trial and appellate courts as well as at state prisons.
Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic
The Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic offers legal services to startups and entrepreneurs across the Commonwealth. Our goal is to assist clients who do not have access to legal counsel, and to be a full-service legal team to assist young businesses from organization and formation to early-stage investment rounds and other contractual work as needed.
Family Law Clinic
Students in the Family Law Clinic represent victims of domestic abuse, and other individuals with family law disputes such as divorce and child custody cases. The work typically includes intensive counseling, case strategy and negotiation, for which the students learn a client-centered approach to the practice of law.
Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic
The Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic allows students to represent indigent criminal defendants accused of misdemeanor offenses in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. Students learn litigation, negotiation and advocacy skills as they represent defendants through all stages of a criminal case before any appeals.
Intellectual Property Clinic
The Intellectual Property Clinic offers free legal services and counseling in intellectual property strategy to startup companies, nonprofit entities, and entrepreneurs across the Commonwealth. We aim to assist clients who otherwise would not have access to legal counsel.
Manglona Lab for Gender and Economic Equity
The Anuncia Donecia Songsong Manglona Lab at Penn State Dickinson Law creates opportunities for law students to learn about the past and present of fairness in the law, while learning valuable legal skills. Students contribute to the Manglona Lab's research initiatives, interviews, educational projects, and other work.
Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic
Every day, low-income families in central Pennsylvania face health challenges that cannot be solved in an exam room or with a prescription. Often, the underlying cause of a health problem is a legal issue. Students in the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic work to address health-harming legal needs of community members through joint advocacy with providers at Penn State Health, Hamilton Health Center, Sadler Health Center, and other locations.
Rural Economic Development Clinic
With one of the nation’s largest rural populations, Pennsylvania’s prosperity depends upon its rural communities. The clinic is committed to training talented lawyers while encouraging sustainable rural economic development by representing clients in the agricultural, food, and energy sectors.
Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic
The Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic offers students hands-on experience representing veterans and current servicemembers in some of the unique legal issues they encounter, including providing pro bono services concerning appeals of disability, pension, and education benefits claims.