Washburn Law Clinic
There is no substitute for hands-on or practical experience. That's why for more than 35 years, the Washburn Law Clinic has made it possible for our students to practice law before they graduate. Our clinic interns, under the close supervision of faculty, represent real clients in matters of criminal law, family law, juvenile law, Native American law, civil law, appellate defense practice, and transactional law.
The Law Clinic operates as a working law firm staffed by third-year law students and full-time faculty members trained in clinical education. To ensure that interns obtain the maximum benefit from their clinical experience, the Law Clinic intentionally keeps its student-faculty ratio low. In addition, the clinic has a graduate student in residence from Washburn University's School of Social Work. The inclusion of a social worker brings an interdisciplinary perspective that teaches interns how to work with allied professionals and best meet their clients' needs.
Making a Difference
Students enrolled in the Law Clinic are granted special permission from the Kansas Supreme Court to practice law and represent individuals who otherwise could not afford legal counsel. By applying their legal skills, clinic interns also provide a valuable public service. Interns counsel clients, investigate case-related facts, draft pleadings, argue motions, negotiate with opposing counsel, and appear at hearings and trials.
Hands-on Skills
Clinic interns also attend clinical skills seminars, which use discussion, simulation and lecture to augment their hands-on learning experience. These seminars, which are team-taught by clinic faculty, emphasize professional ethics, client interviewing and counseling, strategic planning and negotiating skills. Students then apply these skills to their real-life cases in the Law Clinic.
Thanks to the clinic's learn-by-doing approach, Washburn Law students already have some experience “under their belts” before they graduate. They know the challenge of arguing a complex legal issue to a judge or making a closing argument to a jury. They have experienced the challenge of deposing an expert witness or cross-examining a hostile witness during trial and the satisfaction of representing real clients in the service of justice.
