| For those of you who have never taken a clinical course, the experience will be unlike any other you have had in school. Even if you have worked clerking in a law office or a government agency, the clinic will offer you something unique—the chance to fulfill your professional role as a lawyer.
While all of this learning is essential preparation for the practice of law, it does not contain the full complexity, ambiguity, and dynamics of actual law practice. To practice law in a competent manner it is not enough to know legal theory and how to predict what a court might do with a given set of facts. You must learn skills to deal with people who find themselves in difficult, embarrassing, or confusing situations; and to explain the law, legal processes, and options to clients. You must also learn skills to deal cordially and professionally with your adversaries and the courts while still vigorously representing your client.
You must be able to take a disorganized and fragmented story from a client and develop a plan to help resolve the difficulty. After all, few clients come to a lawyer's office with the complaint "Well, I have a collateral estoppel problem." Facts will be presented to you in a disjointed, unfocused way and it will be your task as a lawyer to set the problems within a legal framework and devise approaches to solve the client's dilemma.
A complete explanation of Clinic Philosophy and Expectations is available as a PDF.
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