Clinical Professor: Prof. Nancy Maurer, Director - Field Placement program
The classroom component for client advocacy placements combines both civil and criminal practice and addresses common issues of indigent client representation.
The Public Interest and Advocacy Placements offer students the opportunity to learn about lawyering while contributing to the betterment of the lives of people who sometimes have no voice in the legal system: those at the bottom of the economic scale, the victims of domestic violence, tenants, public assistance recipients, the disabled, the mentally ill, the elderly, the homeless and children suffering abuse and neglect. Depending on the particular office, selected students may work directly with clients; complete traditional research and writing assignments; participate in field investigations; prepare witnesses and attend and/or participate in court hearings and/or engage in policy discussions and advocacy. All responsibilities are performed under the supervision of an experienced attorney in the designated office. Students will also participate in a classroom session focusing on substantive poverty law areas as well as the legal, political and ethical issues surrounding legal services and public interest advocacy.
Sample Field Placements
- Albany County Department of Social Services
- Capital District Women's Bar Association: The Legal Project
- Columbia County Department of Social Services
- Disability Rights NY (formerly Disability Advocates, Inc.)
- Empire Justice Center
- Legal Aid Offices in Albany or Saratoga Springs
- Mental Hygiene Legal Services
- NY Farm Bureau, Inc.
- NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
- NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
- NYS Office of Children and Family Services - Legal Department
- NYS Office of Children and Family Services - Office of the Ombudsman
- NYS Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance (OTDA) - Office of Administrative Hearings
- Prisoners Legal Service - Immigration Project
- Prisoner's Legal Services