Clinics
Our clinics and their faculty directors are nationally known for their work and innovation. Our clinics are another way that we prepare our students to graduate as practice-ready attorneys.
Clinics
California Western offers four clinics that serve the community and allow our students to gain experience working with real clients.
The California Western Innocence and Justice Clinic (formerly known as California Innocence Project) provides representation to individuals who are wrongfully convicted, with the goal of securing their release from prison. The clinic trains the next generation of attorneys, giving them hands-on experience. Students help identify, investigate, and litigate claims of actual innocence. Since its inception in 1999, the clinic has helped to free or exonerate more than 40 wrongly incarcerated individuals and has been instrumental in changing laws and policies in California related to preserving evidence, litigating innocence cases, and compensating exonerees.
The Community Law Project provides legal advice to low-income individuals and some of the most vulnerable residents of San Diego County. Students work one-on-one with clients and volunteer attorneys in a variety of legal areas — from landlord and tenant housing issues to immigration and employment disputes; from bankruptcy claims to personal injury filings. This unique clinic allows volunteer law students the opportunity to develop a commitment to public service and experience the benefits of helping those in need while learning essential lawyering skills from experienced practitioners.
New Media Rights is a nonprofit program that provides direct legal services to creatives, entrepreneurs, journalists, and innovators whose projects require specialized internet, intellectual property, privacy, and media law expertise. With more digital content than ever before, the clinic’s work is critical and provides students with opportunities to create informational videos, prepare policy briefs, and contribute to the program’s work with the FCC and other agencies. The New Media Rights Clinic has supported more than 1,000 clients since its founding in 2005.
The Trademark Clinic provides free legal services for individuals and small businesses seeking a federal trademark or service mark from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Student practitioners, who work under the supervision of a California-licensed attorney, are granted a provisional license to practice law before the USPTO. They provide legal assistance to clients who can afford the administrative filing fees but who do not have the means to hire an attorney to advise them.