preLaw - Back To School 2008 - (Page 18) BEST in practic There continues to be an increasing demand for based on clinical opportunities available, but there are other factors that define a great clinical law school. Find out why these schools offer the most opportunities, what they are doing and how theyʼre meeting the demands. hough a lot of the wreckage has been cleared, five students from the University of Maryland School of Law were still shocked at what they were seeing. Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, piles of destroyed homes and empty spaces were left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. For most, it was their first chance to practice law. During the summer, they looked at ways to help with post-Katrina legal problems. Their first hurdle was identifying the damage. “What you see is a new house or new hotel along the coast and then a quarter mile of nothing except some driveways and foundations,” said Professor Michael Millemann, who helped establish the new Maryland Law School clinical program with the Mississippi Center for Justice. “You have to look carefully to get an impact of the storm because it’s been cleared.” After some research, he left the students 30 cases before he returned home in early June. “This has the potential to be a transformable experience,” Milleman said. “They are very excited about doing important work. It’s important to their development as good lawyers and citizens.” As the demand for hands-on legal education continues to grow, many law schools 18 preLaw HANDS-ON LEGAL EDUCATION. We ranked law schools T across the country are taking notice. Many in legal education have understood the challenges since an industry report outlined the need for more clinical opportunities in the early 1990s — a finding that was repeated in a recent report last year. So while many are adding new programs, others are adding unique programs and taking a more personal approach. Who does it best and why? Using data from the Official Guide to ABA-approved Law Schools 2008 Edition, we were able to rank law schools offering the most clinical opportunities by dividing the total number of full-time clinical course Ranking No. 31 on our list, the University of Idaho College of Law’s clinical education program combines actual client representation, simulation, extern placement and classroom instruction. U
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