Clinics, Judicial Internships, and Supervised Fieldwork Programs

Marquette University Law School offers hands-on legal learning experiences for students interested in transactional law, sports law, litigation, alterative dispute resolution and more. Clinics, Judicial Internships and the Supervised Fieldwork Program allow students who have finished their first year of law school to work in authentic legal environments under attorney supervision for credit as part of the law school curriculum.

To access these experiential opportunities, students complete an application and indicate their preferences (bearing in mind prerequisites) for existing internship placements as part of the fall, spring, or summer semesters. Every effort is made to match student preference with internship opportunities. Once placed in an internship, each student works with their attorney supervisor in the field, a faculty advisor at the law school, and the director of Clinical Education to make their internship successful.

Clinics. The Law School sponsors five live-client Clinics: (1) the Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic; (2) the Mediation Clinic, (3) the Restorative Justice Clinic; (4) the Prosecutor Clinic, which is operated in cooperation with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, and (5) the Public Defender Clinic, which is offered in coordination with the Milwaukee Office of the Wisconsin State Public Defender.

Judicial Internships. The Law School offers supervised Judicial Internships at appellate and trial courts in the federal and Wisconsin state systems. These judicial internships primarily focus on refining research and writing skills under the guidance of experienced judges and law clerks.

The Supervised Fieldwork Program. The Law School sponsors the Supervised Fieldwork program allowing students to intern in the offices of federal, state, and local government agencies or in public interest organizations offering transactional or litigation services. These experiences offer opportunities to develop or refine skills in areas such as drafting and reviewing contracts, legal research and analysis, writing legal documents, providing client advice, and engaging in litigation proceedings.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Marquette Law School's experiential learning offerings in clinics, judicial internships and supervised fieldwork may include the following:

1. CLINICS

Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic (academic and clinical components), assisting real clients start businesses and resolve business disputes, under the supervision of Director Nathan Hammons;
Mediation Clinic (academic and clinical components), providing the opportunity to mediate actual civil cases in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court Small Claims Division where parties are not represented by counsel, under the supervision of Director Antoine Vacca;
Restorative Justice Clinic (academic and clinical components), bringing restorative justice practices to community organizations, under the supervision of Director, Hon. Mary Triggiano;
Prosecutor Clinic (academic and clinical components), broadening students' understanding of criminal law and procedure and developing trial lawyering skills, under the supervision of veteran Milwaukee County assistant district attorneys;
Public Defender Clinic (academic and clinical components), providing a full range of defense trial representation, under the supervision of veteran assistant state public defenders.

2. JUDICIAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

Appellate Court internships, offering students legal analysis and legal writing experiences at the following courts:
1. United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Hon. Diane S. Sykes)
2. Wisconsin Supreme Court
3. Wisconsin Court of Appeals - District I
4. Wisconsin Court of Appeals - District II
Trial Court internships, giving students opportunities to observe lawyers and judicial decision-making in trial courtrooms and chambers at the following courts:
1. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
2. United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
3. United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
4. Milwaukee County Circuit Courts
  1. Civil Division
  2. Felony Division

3. SUPERVISED FIELDWORK PROGRAMS

AIDS Resource Center (Vivent Health), assisting staff lawyers by interviewing clients, conducting legal research, drafting documents or assisting attorneys at hearings in the areas of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, social security disability, insurance, guardianships, evictions and bankruptcy;
Blood Center of Wisconsin Office of Corporate Counsel, providing experience in the work of in-house legal counsel, including review of contracts as well as research on corporate governance, internal and external audit activities and regulatory compliance;
Catholic Charities Legal Services for Immigrants, working with staff lawyers to interview clients, assist in the preparation of relevant documents, or research legal issues pertinent to immigration law;
Central Wisconsin Community Law; assisting staff attorneys in the criminal defense of adults in criminal cases and juveniles in delinquency cases;
Centro Legal, providing legal assistance with staff attorneys in areas including family law, criminal (and some civil) defense, and immigration law;
District Attorney Offices, working with prosecutors in various district attorney offices in counties outside Milwaukee County. District attorneys who have participated in this program include those in Kenosha County, Racine County, Waukesha County, and Walworth County;
Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin, assisting Federal Defenders in the representation of indigents in federal criminal prosecutions;
Internal Revenue Service, assisting agency attorneys in preparing cases for trial before the United States Tax Court, reviewing the merits of refund litigation, or providing legal advice to protect and collect tax claims of the United States;
Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc., working with agency lawyers to provide legal services to clients, where students might screen new cases, perform follow-up on accepted cases, as well as attend court and agency hearings;
Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, working with staff attorneys to furnish a wide variety of civil legal services to low-income clients in the Milwaukee area such as in the areas of family law, eviction and consumer law;
Medical College of Wisconsin Office of Risk Management; assisting staff counsel with providing legal advice to physicians and to the College related to complaints in the provision of medical care or with researching issues related to medical ethics;
Midwest Environmental Advocates, assisting organization attorneys by researching environmental and administrative law, drafting pleadings and briefs, meeting with clients, reviewing public records, or drafting comments for administrative proceedings;
Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office, offering opportunities to work with assistant city attorneys to provide in-house counsel advice in the areas of litigation, drafting of contracts, or review of ordinances and resolutions;
Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel or Economic Development Division or Parks Department Office of the Contracts Manager, assisting county attorneys in their work representing county agencies by reviewing contracts, negotiating with vendors and tenants of the county, working on proposed legislation, or assisting with litigation matters including mental commitment hearings;
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District General Counsel, giving students an in-house counsel experience in a municipal, environmental law setting, with work on real estate acquisitions, contract review, litigation, public records and open meetings, or Public Service Commission proceedings,
Mobile Legal Clinic Expungement and Pardon Clinic, working with staff attorneys to help clients expunge their criminal records or to obtain a pardon;
National Labor Relations Board, working in the Milwaukee field office to provide research for matters in litigation, participate in representation election proceedings, unfair labor practice investigations and hearings, or injunction proceedings;
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, following the lead of Assistant United States Attorneys in the civil and criminal divisions of the office in the representation of the United States as a party;
United States Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Regional Counsel, working with staff counsel in an in-house setting on employment law matters, tort law matters, which may include students doing factual investigation, pleading and discovery drafting, as well as research and legal analysis on federal issues;
University of Wisconsin Office of the General Counsel, assisting attorneys in the provision of in-house legal counsel to the UW System Administration and the UW Board of Regents in areas such as real estate, employment, athletics and compliance;
Wisconsin Association of School Boards, working with association attorneys to research, analyze, and address legal issues received from Wisconsin school boards;
Wisconsin Dept of Justice (Office of the Attorney General) Legal Services Division, working with Assistant Attorneys General in drafting trial and appellate court briefs, preparing memoranda on case-related issues, or attending negotiations, settlement meetings and court hearings;
Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources Bureau of Legal Services, assisting agency lawyers by performing legal research on environmental law issues in Wisconsin, preparing for and attending contested case hearings, drafting administrative regulations, or coordinating with other state and federal agencies;
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (Special Education Team), assisting agency lawyers with special education law compliance matters, including researching and analyzing special education matters, monitoring school districts for compliance with special education laws, as well as assisting with investigation of facts related to issues of non-compliance;
Wisconsin Elections Commission, working under the direct supervision of a WEC commissioner to research and analyze legal issues related to election law, voting rights, and election complaints;
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), working under staff counsel to evaluate potential cases, and to address legal challenges associated with law reform and public policy litigation, which may include research, analysis and writing as well as drafting court documents;
Wisconsin Legislative Council, assisting non-partisan attorneys to provide legal and policy analysis as well as procedural advice to legislative committees;
Wisconsin National Guard Staff Judge Advocate, assisting agency attorneys with the provision of legal advice to military personnel and to the military service in areas such as estate planning, family law, landlord-tenant law, and regarding federal acts allowing for military benefits;
Wisconsin Special Education Mediation System, working under the supervision of the System Administrator to assist mediators in handling special education disputes involving students, families, and Wisconsin school districts.