Clinical Policies

Type of Work
Connection to Courses
Adding and Dropping
Placements
Confidentiality and Professional Conduct
Clinical Credits and Work Schedule

Type of Work

What counts as clinical work?

Clinical work must be law-related, and involve the application or interpretation of law, the formulation of legal policy, the drafting of legislation or regulations, or legal advocacy or representation. It should not be clerical in nature. All work must be supervised by a licensed attorney or a law professor.

Are all clinical courses open to 2Ls and 3Ls?

Due to Massachusetts rules on representing clients in criminal proceedings, two clinical courses require students be in their 3L year: "Introduction to Advocacy: Criminal Justice" and "Introduction to Advocacy: Criminal -Prosecution Perspectives." Some clinical courses have additional restrictions, pre-requisites, or co-requisites; check the clinical curriculum chart for specific information

Can I do clinical work outside of the US?

Yes, the International Human Rights Clinic and War Crimes Prosecution clinical course have an international component that may include travel abroad. Students may also perform clinical work abroad during the winter term through an independent clinical.

Can I continue working on my clinical cases/projects in a subsequent semester?

Yes! Students who complete the original course and clinical can arrange to continue clinical work in a subsequent semester (even into another year) by applying for a continuing clinical. Regular clinical credit minimums/maximums apply, and approval of the clinical supervisor and the clinic’s faculty director is required.

Connection to Courses

Do I have to take a class in order to do a clinical?

Clinicals must be done conjunction with a course in the same academic year. However, you do not have to enroll in a course before joining a clinical – when you enroll in a clinical section you are automatically enrolled in the clinical and course components. Only independent clinicals and continuing clinicals are not tied to a class.

I’m in a class that has a clinical option. How do I sign up for the clinical?

In classes with clinical options, there are a certain number of seats reserved for clinical students – this is called the clinical section. You must specifically enroll in the clinical section in order to do a clinical. If you register for a course as a standalone course (the “class-only” section) and then want to do the clinical component, you must check for availability in the clinical section and then switch sections. When you enroll in a clinical section you are automatically enrolled in the clinical and course components, so you will need to drop the “class-only” section before enrolling in the clinical section.
If the clinical section is full, you may add yourself to the clinical waitlist without forfeiting your seat in the class. If you are invited to enroll from the clinical waitlist, you must first drop the “class-only” section before adding the clinical section (this is because the clinical course section will contain both the class and clinical, and MyPlan will otherwise think you are trying to add the class again).

What is a workshop?

Certain placements require a 1 or 2 credit workshop in addition to the class and clinical. The workshops serve as a bridge between the theory taught in the classroom and clinical work. The Gender Violence and Title IX clinicals require this 1 credit workshop, as do large courses that place students at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center. If these workshops are required, students will automatically be registered for the workshop, or will be contacted about adding the workshop.

Are there any pre-requisites for clinicals, like Evidence?

Few clinicals have pre-requisites, but if you are looking to do a clinical that includes court practice then Evidence is most likely a pre-requisite or co-requisite. The clinical curriculum chart and the course descriptions will list pre-requisite and co-requisites.

Adding and Dropping

How do I add a clinical?

Please see our Clinical Registration page.

If I drop a clinical, can I stay in the class?

Only a certain number of seats in a course are reserved for clinical students, called the clinical section. If you drop a clinical section, you are automatically dropped from the accompanying course as well. The class and clinical components are co-requisites of one another in the clinical section and are dropped together. If a new student adds into the clinical section, they must be added into both the course and clinical. After dropping out of a clinical section, you can try to re-enroll in the “class-only” section if there is availability and the add/drop deadline has not passed.

Are all clinicals in clinical registration?

Some courses are by-permission and cannot be added through clinical registration or during add/drop on MyPlan. These courses are noted as “By Permission" in the clinical curriculum and the course description. Enrollment instructions for by-permission clinical sections are explained in its course description. Independent clinicals and continuing clinicals require applications.

What if I drop after the clinical add/drop deadline?

Dropping after the clinical add/drop deadline will result in a "Withdrawal" notation on your transcript.  This is a strict policy.  Note that clinical add/drop deadlines are always earlier than the regular add/drop deadline, and we abide by the clinical add/drop deadline when imposing a "Withdrawal" notation.  If you drop a clinical, you are dropped from both the class and clinical.  

Placements

If I already went through the security clearance process for the U.S. Attorney's Office, do I have to do it again?

Yes, typically security clearances for the U.S. Attorney's Office last for 3 months.

Can I receive transportation assistance to get to my clinical placement?

The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs does not offer transportation assistance. However, you can sign up for discounted T-passes through the Dean of Students Office.

Does transportation time count towards my clinical hours?

Time spent traveling does not count for clinical hours.

Confidentiality & Professional Conduct

What kind of guidelines do I follow as a student attorney?

You must not identify yourself as an attorney or give the impression to clients that you are an attorney, even though you have all the responsibilities and obligations of an attorney.  Always advise clients and others that you are a law student. If someone mistakenly refers to you as an attorney or otherwise indicates that they think you are an attorney, you must clarify that you are a student.  The Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct (found at http://www.mass.gov/obcbbo/rpcnet.htm), or the rules or codes of the particular jurisdiction of your placement, apply to you. Please make sure that you are familiar with these rules and can access them during the semester. When questions or problems arise, there are many resources available to you, including your supervisor and the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

I heard I can be certified to appear in court - how does that work?

Under the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Student Practice Rule 3:03, JD students in their second and third year may appear in court in legal matters if certain criteria are met.  In general, students must work under the direct supervision of a Massachusetts licensed attorney, be involved in a clinical program, and enrolled full time and in good standing with the law school. 2L students can only appear in court in civil matters; 3L students may appear in civil or criminal matters. If court appearances are required for your clinical work, contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs to determine if you are eligible for student certification (for in-house clinics that center around court appearances, our office may automatically all eligible students in the clinic). If you are eligible, the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs will arrange for your certification. You cannot and should not appear in court until you have received a copy of your certification letter. Requesting certification takes approximately 2 - 3 weeks.

Are there any confidentiality issues I should know about? 

The majority of students enrolled in a course for clinical credit are working in a law office environment, practicing under a special court rule. Because of this, you are bound by the same “attorney / client” confidentiality rules as staff at each placement site. While most clinical placements will address confidentiality issues with you, please feel free to raise any questions or concerns you may have with your supervisor. 

We recommend the following as a starting point for dealing with client confidentiality:

• At all times, assure the client that all matters discussed relating to his or her legal problem and all written materials relative to the client or case are confidential. This also applies to potential clients you interview who are seeking legal advice.
• At the beginning of your clinical work, discuss any potential conflicts of interest with your supervisor, including any prior knowledge or legal work you may have accomplished on behalf of an opposing party.
• Do not refer to a client by name, provide identifying information or talk about details of the case in common areas of the office (reception area, hallway, elevators) where other clients or visitors may overhear you. This same rule applies when you are outside of the office (at a local restaurant), or when you’re in a law school setting such as a class. Although we encourage the integration of clinical work into the classroom, you must never write a law school paper or exam, or provide your professor with case file documentation, containing the client’s name or other identifying information about the case or client.
• Handle case files carefully to avoid breaching client confidentiality. Whenever possible, case files and case-related documents should be kept in a filing cabinet -- not on a desktop, where confidential information could be viewed by anyone walking by.

Clinical Credits and Work Schedules

How do clinical credits work?

In a clinical section you earn class credits for the classroom component and clinical credit for the clinical work you do. Although some courses have a required number of clinical credits, the majority of courses offering a clinical component will allow you to elect 2, 3 or 4 clinical credits. One clinical credit equals five hours of work per week at your placement site, and most clinics require at least 2 clinical credits:

2 clinical credits = 10 hours of clinical work per week, 120 per semester
3 clinical credits = 15 hours of clinical work per week, 180 per semester
4 clinical credits = 20 hours of clinical work per week, 240 per semester

For the Winter Term, credits are set at 2 and students must work full time (40 hours per week). This intensive schedule is necessary for students to attain an equivalent number of clinical hours that students perform in the fall or spring semesters (a minimum of 120 hours).

How many clinicals can I take in a semester?

You can only take one clinical per semester.  

What is the maximum number of clinical credits I can take?

In the fall and spring semesters, you can only take up to 4 clinical credits. In the winter term, students can only enroll for 2 clinical credits.  NOTE: For JD students, up to 12 clinical credits can count towards the degree requirement for the JD degree (52 upper-level credits are needed to graduate).  Combining clinical, cross registration, and written work credits, up to 16 can count towards the JD degree requirement. Review the HLS Academic Handbook for more information on degree requirements and credit limitations. LLM students should consult with the LLM program office for clinical credit restrictions.

Can I work from home?

You must fulfill all of your clinical work hours on-site at your clinical placement, whether on campus or in the Boston area. Any exceptions or deviations must be discussed in advance with your supervisor and the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.  With placements based outside of the Boston area, work would be long-distance and projects and work would need to be coordinated with your individual supervisor.  

Do I have to make up holidays or vacation weeks? 

You are responsible for consistently working the required number of hours each week throughout the semester, with exceptions for the December holidays, fly-out and spring break weeks. During these excused absences, which you should coordinate in advance with your placement supervisor, you are required to assure that all casework is covered and that clients are aware of your absence. Thanksgiving week is a regular work week and you are responsible for making up any missed days or hours worked. Any unplanned hours missed from your weekly schedule of clinical work must be made up within a reasonable period of time on a schedule developed in conjunction with your clinical supervisor. 

Do my clinical credits count towards my pro bono requirement?

Clinical work that is not for a for-profit entity will count for the Pro Bono Requirement. Clinical credits are automatically converted into pro bono hours and placed on students' records at a set rate of 60 hours per clinical credit. Contact us if you have questions about your clinical qualifying for the Pro Bono Requirement.