The Remington Center offers an intensive, full-time clinical experience open to a limited number of second- and third-year students in the fall semester. Students take 13 credits of clinical work, and a two-credit seminar titled Legal Practice and Professional Identity, for a total of 15 credits for the semester. Given the full-time commitment, students take no other law school courses during the semester. This gives students an immersion learning experience like that provided in the full-time summer clinics. The learning curve is very steep.
The Clinical Work (13 clinical credits)
Students enrolled in the Remington Center Clinical Semester assist clients at the federal prison at Oxford, Wisconsin. Their experience is very similar to that of summer students working with Oxford clients. The students develop their lawyering abilities by assisting their clients with a wide variety of problems. These generally center around the validity of federal convictions and sentences under the complex federal sentencing guidelines. Other client problems typically involve resolution of outstanding criminal matters from other jurisdictions, some family law matters, return of property, release hearings before the immigration service (many clients speak only Spanish), U.S. Parole Commission hearings, and any other issue that can be handled competently. The emphasis is on trying to find creative, thoughtful, and exacting ways to answer clients' questions, and find solutions to their problems. Students are expected to make one to two visits each week to the prison to meet with their clients.
Legal Practice and Professional Identity Seminar (2 credits)
The weekly seminar component explores the legal practice issues that arise out of the students' clients and their cases. The seminar focuses on identifying the most important skills, knowledge and values for lawyers. A central inquiry is whether and how students can create a law practice for themselves that is successful and meaningful. There are associated readings and writing requirements.
Please contact Clinical Professor Meredith Ross by email (mjross@wisc.edu) or telephone (262.3764) with any questions you may have about the Clinical Semester.