Michigan Law Clinics Evolve to Meet Changing Needs of Students and the Community

The 17 clinics at Michigan Law offer students practical experience while also providing clients with legal help they might not otherwise receive. At the same time, the strength of the program—and its willingness to change with the times—gives Michigan a competitive edge over its peer schools. Here, Law Quadrangle explores the program and its enduring significance for students and the clients they serve.

Student Advocates

Today, the American Bar Association requires all law students to complete at least six credit hours of experiential learning through clinics or other approved means. But when Michigan Law students and faculty first began advocating for credited work with local legal aid organizations, no such requirement existed.

The faculty approved “Clinical Law” on an experimental basis in 1969, offering an eight-week summer course under the direction of Professor J.J. White, ’62, who described himself at the time as a “wholly partial and largely irrational advocate of clinical law.” Soon after, students began lobbying the administration for a permanent for-credit clinical program, sharing testimonials and mounting a public campaign in Res Gestae. In February 1970, William A. Irwin, ’70, reflected on his uncredited clinical experience.

“An exposure to clinical law gives the student…something concrete to base a judgment upon. The experience of the course impressed upon me the centrality of procedure, the importance of negotiation and settlement, and the indispensability of complete candor and trust on the part of both attorney and client.”

In fall 1970, the faculty unanimously approved a for-credit clinical program. More than 50 years later, the value students described still rings true. While the program has grown and evolved, its mission remains the same: to train outstanding lawyers while serving those in need.

3%

Percentage of students who participated in clinic activities in 1969, according to a contemporaneous article in Res Gestae

80%

Percentage of students who take a clinic at Michigan Law today*

*Figure varies slightly for each graduating class.