Practica

The Civil Rights Litigation Practicum is a two-semester course that provides a survey of the litigation skills necessary to prosecute and defend a case from the pleading stage, through discovery and motions, up to, but not including trial. While the legal basis of the two-semester class is a survey of the applicable California Rules of Civil Procedure, California Rules of Court, and California Rules of Professional Conduct, the course is not merely a study of legal theories. Rather, the rules will be studied in the context of a simulated dispute that goes through both semesters. 

Interested in working for some of the leading entertainment companies in Los Angeles?

Students obtain positions in the legal departments of companies in most branches of the entertainment and media industries, from the largest studios to independent production companies, and in law firms with entertainment and media practices. Students in the past have worked at Marvel; Warner Bros.; Lionsgate; Insomniac; Anonymous Content; Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, and more.

Students are permitted to earn credit for a combination of their field placement work and completion of the Entertainment Law Practicum course focusing on important aspects of the practice of law in the entertainment industry context, and a paper regarding their field placement.

ELP Application

The International Human Rights Practicum gives students the chance to do hands-on, immersive, international human rights legal work. Through the International Human Rights Center, students engage in litigation and/or advocacy on behalf of victims of international human rights violations. While students work on all stages of an individual case, or engage in advocacy efforts on particular thematic issues, they learn how to conceptualize and strategize diverse approaches and grapple with practical, ethical, methodological and theoretical challenges involved. Through the IHR practicum, Loyola’s students have the opportunity to expand their perspectives and reach the world from Los Angeles. Over the years, students have worked on cases and situations in dozens of countries, in all continents.

Students sign up for two consecutive terms (usually, fall and spring) and earn up to three units (pass/fail) per term, for maximum 6 units. Students working at the International Human Rights Center during the summer term have the option of being compensated through the work-study program instead of earning units.

All units are fail/pass and count toward the completion of the pro bono graduation requirement.

Students enrolled in the practicum meet once a week for one hour (days and hours will be determined once students have enrolled and made their calendars) as a group with Prof. Romano to discuss international human rights topics, develop attorney skills, and review project work.

Only 4 to 6 students per year are admitted in the practicum. It is not infrequent for students who have completed the practicum to continue working at the IHRC after completion of the practicum, or even graduation.

The course International Protection of Human Rights (LAW G-4007) is a requisite. It can be satisfied either prior to enrolling or concurrently during the practicum.

Students interesting in the IHR practicum are strongly encouraged to reach out to Prof. Romano to discuss their interest.

This course exposes students to immigration issues that transcend the U.S.-Mexico border. Students enrolled in the class will not only be exposed to policy and current legal issues, but also gain practical skills in client representation. As part of the course, students are required to attend a one-week intensive trip to El Paso, Texas over Spring Break. During the trip, students will engage in a variety of activities including visiting the border, ICE detention centers and the Executive Office of Immigration, located in El Paso. Students also will work closely with a local nonprofit, United Neighborhood Organization ("UNO"), to conduct consultations, legal research, and make in-court appearances on behalf of migrants facing removal from the United States. Students enrolled in the course must be available from Sunday, March 4, to Saturday, March 10, for the trip to El Paso, Texas. Students enrolled in the course must cover their travel, accommodation and meal costs. Professor approval is required for enrollment in the course.

Prerequisites:
Immigration Law (LAWG-4017)  (can be taken concurrently)

The Poehls/Hobbs District Attorney Practicum offers students a year-long opportunity to receive actual courtroom experience while working in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as a certified law clerk. 

During their DA placement semester, students may conduct actual felony preliminary hearings, misdemeanor jury trials and juvenile adjudications.  This courtroom experience comes after a semester of intensive advocacy training specifically focused on preparing the students for the types of courtroom work they will handle in the DA's Office.  While the field placement is in a prosecutorial office, the experience is beneficial for anyone interested in work as a courtroom lawyer including prosecution, criminal defense and civil litigation.

What is a young tax lawyer expected to do? Focusing on the tax attorney's role in the deal process, the Tax Law Practicum takes a transactional approach to the issues in an M & A transaction involving the purchase and sale of a business. In addition to analyzing substantive tax issues, the course focuses on the functions and demands placed on the tax lawyer, including tax planning for the transaction, and negotiating and documenting the tax provisions of the acquisition agreement.

The students will prepare a tax memorandum, give an oral presentation of the research and analysis of tax issues, as well as run a mock meeting with a client and corporate partner. Special guest speakers will include young tax lawyers and experienced corporate lawyers. The course objective is to integrate theory, ethics and practice in order to prepare students for the types of projects and challenges they will confront as lawyers in a transactional practice. 

Students will learn how to advocate effectively for the due process rights of people who are low income and living with disabilities, by helping them to obtain or to continue to receive necessary federal disability benefits (i.e., SSDI, SSI). After attending six disability law lectures, students will then work with real clients on Social Security application cases or continuing disability review (CDR) cases at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), under the guidance of LAFLA attorneys. Enrollment in this course requires a completed Symplicity application, a statement of interest, and the Professor’s approval. Completion of this course fulfills pro bono and experiential learning requirements. 

Students in this practicum will gain valuable and memorable legal clinic experiences in addition to transferrable skills that can be used in their future professions in any area of law. Students will sharpen their legal skills by (1) mindfully communicating and interacting with their clients to obtain all the information needed to advocate on their client’s behalf; (2) selecting relevant facts to determine whether their client meets a legal standard according to a systematic sequential evaluation process which can allow their client to obtain needed financial benefits relief; (3) drafting an objective research memorandum and/or brief advocating on their client’s behalf; (4) possibly attending their client’s hearing with either a disability examiner or an administrative law judge (ALJ) for reconsideration cases or new cases respectively; and (5) giving a brief class presentation summarizing and reflecting upon their clinic work learning experiences.