Innocence Clinic is a lot of work, but I think it’s well worth it. If you enjoyed crim law, or honestly if you just like true crime documentaries, you’ll like this work. It’s a seven credit course, and it’s definitely seven credits worth of work, but it’s always interesting and engaging. You’ll grow to dislike your other classes because nothing can compare to clinic (and also, nothing ever feels as pressing as working on getting your real life innocent clients out of prison).
I would also point out that my schedule is super nice because of clinic. It’s seven credits with no exam, and the class only meets twice a week. So I’m able to design my own schedule and get work done on my own time, which I love. You do get six hours of assigned “office hours” during the week when you have to be working on clinic stuff, but you can sort of pick when they are. And then come the end of the semester, my exam schedule is a breeze because I’m only taking two other classes.
I have no idea how to estimate how much time I spend on this per week, but I’ll break it down a bit. For the actual seminar portion, you usually get 1-2 hours of reading per class, but maybe 30-40% of the time there’s no reading at all for class. So it works out nicely. (Also, sometimes the assignment is like “watch this fascinating episode of dateline” so I really can’t complain.) There are a handful of other assignments throughout the semester – like you’ll lead class once and there’s one oral argument – but it’s all fairly low key. And for the client work, it really depends heavily on what’s going on in your cases. But I put in the six office hours plus a handful of extra hours per week and that’s about it. You can definitely make it fit your schedule.
The professors are very nice – they definitely expect a lot but that’s only fair. We’re dealing with real people who are counting on us. Ultimately, I highly recommend it! As long as this is a cause you care about and you’re willing to prioritize this work, you’ll have a great time.
MLaw Prof Reviews
Innocence Clinic is a lot of work, but I think it’s well worth it. If you enjoyed crim law, or honestly if you just like true crime documentaries, you’ll like this work. It’s a seven credit course, and it’s definitely seven credits worth of work, but it’s always interesting and engaging. You’ll grow to dislike your other classes because nothing can compare to clinic (and also, nothing ever feels as pressing as working on getting your real life innocent clients out of prison).
I would also point out that my schedule is super nice because of clinic. It’s seven credits with no exam, and the class only meets twice a week. So I’m able to design my own schedule and get work done on my own time, which I love. You do get six hours of assigned “office hours” during the week when you have to be working on clinic stuff, but you can sort of pick when they are. And then come the end of the semester, my exam schedule is a breeze because I’m only taking two other classes.
I have no idea how to estimate how much time I spend on this per week, but I’ll break it down a bit. For the actual seminar portion, you usually get 1-2 hours of reading per class, but maybe 30-40% of the time there’s no reading at all for class. So it works out nicely. (Also, sometimes the assignment is like “watch this fascinating episode of dateline” so I really can’t complain.) There are a handful of other assignments throughout the semester – like you’ll lead class once and there’s one oral argument – but it’s all fairly low key. And for the client work, it really depends heavily on what’s going on in your cases. But I put in the six office hours plus a handful of extra hours per week and that’s about it. You can definitely make it fit your schedule.
The professors are very nice – they definitely expect a lot but that’s only fair. We’re dealing with real people who are counting on us. Ultimately, I highly recommend it! As long as this is a cause you care about and you’re willing to prioritize this work, you’ll have a great time.