Clinics are really an opportunity for you to become a lawyer while you're still in law school. So you get the chance to stand up in court. You get the chance to meet with clients. You get the chance to do your own research, and your own writing, your own drafting of documents, and your own appellate argument. And you do that with 100% support from faculty. We have trial clinics of course. So people go to housing court. People go to small claims court. And then we have Veterans Appeals. We work with immigrants, with small businesses, and nonprofits on transactional and regulatory matters. And in all of our clinics, you build the skills that you need to become a lawyer. For students who aren't sure which area of law they want to practice, the clinics are a really great opportunity to kind of try on an area of law, for example, family law, or transactional lawyering. And the students and clinics get to be the lead attorneys and take on real-life clients, and the faculty supervisors are supporting them and then giving them everything they need to succeed. So I'm the director of the Innocence Project Clinic. And what's unique about the Innocence Project Clinic is that it is a joint project with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. So we investigate cases for defendants who have been convicted who have factual claims of innocence. So the students are able to meet with clients who are incarcerated, do investigations, look at DNA evidence, and to help try and exonerate the wrongfully convicted. So it's a really unique opportunity for them to dig in and make a huge difference not only in their education but also in the lives of people. I mean, there are men and women in Maryland who are free because students worked on their cases. So it's a really special opportunity.
