Social Justice Focus

The Loyola Center for Conflict Resolution's Collaborative Law Clinic (C-LAW) provides students the opportunity to shadow attorneys who, together with mental health professionals and financial experts, volunteer their time to assist modest income couples in resolving their family law matters. 

Loyola's Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic offers law students a unique opportunity to work directly with clients in need. Working with attorneys from the nonprofit law firm Public Counsel, students staff the Bankruptcy Self-Help Desk in Downtown Los Angeles, where they gain valuable experience interviewing clients and preparing pleadings in a fast-paced environment—regardless of whether they plan to practice bankruptcy law. Students also have an opportunity to develop public speaking skills by presenting portions of workshops that teach self-represented litigants how to file for bankruptcy protection. At the end of the semester, students argue a motion in front of a bankruptcy judge at a mock hearing held at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Part of Loyola's Center for Conflict Resolution, the Dependency Court Mediation Assistance Clinic provides students an inside look at family law, allowing them to perform critical tasks alongside lawyers as families resolve their child custody issues. At DC-MAC, students are trained in mediation and conciliation (telephone mediation). After receiving mediation training and an additional 6 hours of training on Dependency Court - and passing the court background check - students observe, co-mediate and draft mediation agreements/Court Exit Orders in the Edmund D. Edelman's Children's Courthouse. Until students pass the background check, or if there are no scheduled mediations in Dependency Court, students engage in conciliation work at Loyola's Center for Conflict Resolution in a wide variety of cases including, but not limited to, landlord-tenant, neighbor-to-neighbor, family disputes, divorce, consumer-merchant, discrimination, and organizational conflicts.

The Employment Rights Clinic is a unique collaboration between Loyola Law School and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE or Labor Commissioner) in which students will investigate, mediate, and recommend outcomes for employment retaliation claims filed with the DLSE. The one-semester course includes a weekly two-hour classroom seminar. The classroom seminar will cover substantive state and federal anti-retaliation law, the broader universe of employment laws in which retaliation may occur, and the role of the Labor Commissioner in regulating the workplace. Students will also be required to investigate employment retaliation claims filed with the DLSE. Each student will be assigned an individual case for which s/he will conduct telephonic interviews of the parties and witnesses, review documentary evidence provided by the parties, attempt to mediate a settlement (where appropriate), and write a decision if the case does not settle. While there will be instructor-imposed deadlines set for different stages of the investigation conducted by each student, there is no fixed schedule or location for completion of the investigation component of the clinic. 

Rooted in the Law School's values and tradition of social justice, academic freedom, personal integrity and professional ethics, the overarching mission of the International Human Rights Center at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles ("IHRC" or "center") is to contribute to the attainment of the fullest exercise of human rights by all human beings throughout the world. In carrying out this mission, the IHRC aims to maximize the use of global and regional legal and political institutions through litigation, advocacy and capacity-building. The Clinic's work involves litigation of human rights violations before a wide array of international bodies, and advocacy and international policy-making on pressing human rights issues.

As an educational institution, the clinic transforms its mission and goals into a unique practical experience for its students, providing opportunities to gain vital knowledge and skills for effective and successful legal advocacy on behalf of victims of human rights abuses. 
At the same time, through the strategic use of international and regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights, the clinic provides exceptional pro bono legal assistance and empowers victims of human rights violations, and the organizations representing them, to utilize international and regional mechanisms.

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 clinic, Loyola's students have the opportunity to expand their perspectives and reach the world from Los Angeles.

The clinic is active year-round, over three terms. Students sign up for two consecutive terms (*up to three units (pass/fail) per term, for a total of maximum 6 units*). Students working at the Clinic during the summer have the *option of* being compensated through the *work-study program* instead of earning units. Clinic units also count toward the completion of the *pro bono graduation requirement*. Introduction to International Law is a pre-requisite for the clinic. It can be satisfied either prior to enrolling or concurrently during work at the Clinic.

Clinic students meet once a week for two hours. The first hour is devoted to class discussion regarding international human rights topics and attorney skill development. The second hour is reserved for project work, as the project teams meet with supervising faculty to strategize and discuss any questions or issues confronted in their work.

The clinic is directed by Professor Cesare Romano.

The Juvenile Innocence & Fair Sentencing Clinic is a complete experience in post-conviction criminal defense, through the lens of juvenile post-conviction sentencing. Students prepare, file and litigate three types of claims: (1) re-sentencing claims for clients whose commitment offenses occurred when they were juveniles; (2) wrongful conviction actions for persons convicted as juveniles; and (3) youth offender parole hearings. Students represent incarcerated clients in Los Angeles Superior Court, the California and Federal Courts of Appeal, and the Board of Parole Hearings. All students engage in extensive client and witness interviewing and counseling, in-court litigation, drafting and filing of petitions and motions, hands-on investigation, and appellate advocacy. Students who complete the JIFS Clinic are in high demand for public defender post-bar clerkships; the depth of knowledge and commitment they gain is unique, even among law school clinics. The law of juvenile sentencing is undergoing constant change, and students work at the cutting edge of this law.

The Juvenile Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School is one of a small handful of live client clinics nationwide where students have the opportunity to regularly represent children in delinquency court. 

Students directly represent children charged with offenses in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Each student will be responsible for all aspects of their cases-- including interviewing, discovery, investigations, written motion work, trial and post sentencing matters. Clinical students are required to enroll in a year-long juvenile delinquency and litigation skills course. Course Information.

A multidisciplinary approach to representing children is the hallmark of our philosophy. Our social-work staff plays a key role in our representation of every one of our clients. See information on holistic representation.

The Shriver Landlord Tenant Clinic provides students with an opportunity to work with low-income clients on their eviction matter beginning with the filing of an unlawful detainer complaint through trial proceeding. Students will learn the basics of landlord/tenant law including the eviction process, notice requirements, rent control, and common defenses with an emphasis on practical skills. In addition to regular class time, students will be expected to work on site at the Shriver Housing Project Eviction Assistance Center (EAC) a minimum of (6) hours each week during the first half of the course. Students can expect to interview litigants, assess cases for legal merit, prepare legal pleadings, provide counsel & advice and in some cases make direct referrals to partner agencies for possible representation at trial under the supervision of staff attorneys at the EAC which is located at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. During the second half of the semester, students will be required to complete their on-site learning at one of four legal service agencies in the Shriver collaborative. Students should expect to expand on their knowledge of evictions at the trial level and work alongside a Shriver housing attorney to represent tenants in the latter part of the case including but not limited to preparation of discovery, observation and participation in deposition, negotiation, trial strategy discussions and limited appearance in court on the day of trial. Read more about our work>>

The Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic (LIJC) is a community-based collaboration of Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University, Homeboy Industries Inc., and Dolores Mission Church. LIJC’s dual-pronged mission is to advance the rights of the indigent immigrant population in East Los Angeles through direct legal services, education, and community empowerment, while teaching law students effective immigrants’ rights lawyering skills in a real world setting. LIJC focuses on providing representation to individuals who are unable to obtain immigration legal services elsewhere with an emphasis on immigrants with certain immigration and criminal complications who reside in the East Los Angeles area. 

The Ninth Circuit Appellate Clinic offers students interested in appellate advocacy the rare opportunity to represent a client in a civil or immigration appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  In the fall semester, the students review the record and draft and file the opening brief.  After receiving the answering brief, the students spend the spring semester drafting the reply brief and preparing for oral argument, which usually takes place in April at the Ninth Circuit’s Pasadena Courthouse.

Students in the Workers' Rights Clinic will represent low-wage workers on behalf of local civil-rights agencies. Students will receive substantive research, writing and interviewing experience, which may include writing litigation memos, preparing hearing briefs, writing legal research memos, drafting declarations, interviewing clients and/or witnesses, and/or preparing clients for mediation or settlement, or representing clients at hearings. 

As the phrase “school to prison pipeline” attests, there is proven causal relationship between unmet special-education needs and court involvement. Many of the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy’s clients are children who are entitled to Regional Center services, social security relief, or Individualized Education Plans that the school system has failed to provide. For this reason, the Center also features a Youth Education Justice Clinic, where law students under the supervision of an education attorney represent these clients in due process hearings, disciplinary hearings, and IEP assessments in order to advocate for their legal entitlements. By addressing the special education needs of these children, the Center increases their chances for a lasting positive outcome. 

Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent (LPI) is dedicated to the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted. Loyola Law School students are the heart and soul of the clinic, which is yearlong.  If, after a thorough investigation of a case, a true claim of innocence is provable, clinic students will help draft a habeas petition so that the case can be litigated in court. 

The dire consequences of a felony conviction last far longer than the years spent in prison and time spent under post-release supervision. In addition to those direct punishments, returning citizens are often denied licenses for many jobs, lose their right to vote, are separated from their families, denied driver’s licenses and denied housing. In response to the pervasive, negative and stifling impact these collateral consequences of conviction have on formerly incarcerated community members, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is partnering with Loyola Law School (LLS) to offer the Collateral Consequences of Conviction Justice Project. The Clinic will provide free legal representation to individuals with past criminal justice involvement to assist them in navigating and overcoming many of the collateral consequences of conviction with the goal of facilitating successful reintegration into society.

In C-MAC, students receive 30 hours of basic mediation training, and then provide conciliation (telephone mediation) and/or face-to-face mediation services in a wide variety of cases including, but not limited to, landlord-tenant, neighbor-to-neighbor, family disputes, divorce (classic and collaborative mediation), consumer-merchant, discrimination, organizational, and employment disputes. A two-semester commitment is requested not required. Students who take two units and earn units toward their experiential learning requirement.

Fridays 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

• of units: 2-3 (depending on student choice)
• maximum enrollment: 8 students
• eligible for pro bono credit hours

Less than 1% of civil cases reach a jury trial.  Today’s litigators need to learn about how to effectively advocate for their client in settling cases, whether through direct settlement negotiations, judicial settlement conferences, or mediation.  Much the same is true for in-house counsel, solo lawyers with a generalist practice, and lawyers working in government agencies.

This Pro Se Mediation Clinic will provide students with hands-on training and actual experience representing parties in disputes referred to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) mediation program.  DFEH is the state agency charged with protecting the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, as well as from hate violence and human trafficking.  Disputes referred to DFEH mediation usually involve claims under state civil rights laws.

Students will first learn the basics of state and federal antidiscrimination law and participate in one DFEH mediation as an observer only.  Under the close supervision of the clinic instructor, they will then work in teams of 2 to interview clients, research the law and counsel clients on the strengths and weaknesses of their claims or defenses, draft a mediation brief, and represent clients during the mediation process before a professional DFEH mediator.  If a settlement is reached, students will be involved in negotiating and drafting the settlement agreement.  

This is an unparalleled opportunity to practice advocating in a substantive area of the law (antidiscrimination) that has broad applicability even outside the housing and employment contexts.  Students will also learn how to navigate the mediation process, how to use problem solving skills to de-escalate conflict with an opponent, and how to effectively represent a client in a non-adversarial setting. 

Students electing to take this course for 2 units will participate in one mediation; those signing up for 3 units will participate in 2-3 mediations. 

Note:  Unlike other mediation courses, students in this class will not take the role of a mediator or learn how to mediate a case as a neutral third party.  Students will have opportunities to represent the interest of complainants and of respondents in different cases, depending upon the actual representation requests the clinic receives.

Prerequisite:  Ethical Lawyering

Pre- or Co-Requisite: Introduction to Negotiation, Negotiation Intensive Workshop, Mediation, Mediation Advocacy, or Mediation Advocacy for Litigators