Day 133: Ready to File

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

This year, the Immigration Law Clinic will offer every student team a chance to defend a removal case in immigration court. In the clinic, students “first-chair” their cases — they

• develop the primary client relationship

• develop the case theory

• research, write, and file the briefs

• prepare for court

• present the case to the judge

As supervisors, we attorneys help orient them, guide them when they get stuck or off course, review their work to make sure it meets court requirements. As the attorneys who will sign the pleadings and enter appearances, we take final responsibility for the work.

Clinic Seminar skills

In the seminar portion of the course, we teach students the practice skills they need to take the lead, skills that go far beyond the substantive law they’ve learned in other law school courses. They learn:

how to develop a case map

how to prepare pleadings that meet the court’s myriad technical specifications

how to prepare themselves and their clients for court

how to negotiate with the prosecutor

how to work effectively with clients to recognize trauma and minimize trauma triggers in this understandably distressing process

putting it together

Next week, a student team will file the first of our three cases for this year. They’ve prepared hard all semester, and the trial is coming up soon. After filing the briefs, they’ll practice their opening and closing statements, and prepare the client for direct examination and, anticipating points the prosecutor might raise, re-direct.

I’m really proud of this team and the quality of their work. After this experience, I feel confident that they will be prepared to take final responsibility on their own cases next year. Hopefully, they will feel that way too.