The Clinic Experience
Pierce Law's clinics bring law classes to life by allowing students to
apply their knowledge to real cases. Experienced faculty members, most
of whom practiced in their fields prior to teaching, supervise the
clinical programs. All clinics include a classroom component, but their
primary focus is on real-world experience, much of it in actual
courtrooms.
With the guidance of faculty members, students gain a solid
background in legal research and analysis; legal reasoning; litigation;
and counseling. Students also receive training in specialized areas
such as trial advocacy, dispute resolution, and evidence presentation
for today's high technology courtrooms. Pierce Law's clinical programs
benefit students and the community at large, since students often
represent clients whose needs might otherwise go unserved.
Pierce Law's Clinical Programs allow second and third year students to
represent clients in actual cases in several practice areas. Currently,
Pierce Law offers six clinical experiences:
- Administrative Law and Advocacy
- Consumer and Commercial Law
- Criminal Practice
- Intellectual Property and Transaction
- Appellate Defender Program
- Mediation
Students represent clients in District, Superior, Federal and Bankruptcy courts; and handle a variety of cases including landlord/tenant issues, consumer protection, unemployment compensation, defense of foreclosure, repossession and collection actions, impact litigation for low income clients, and all stages of criminal defense of misdemeanors and felonies, including trials and sentencing.
The Consumer and Commercial Law Clinic and Administrative Advocacy Clinic are funded, in part, by the New Hampshire Bar Foundation IOLTA Grant Program.
