Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors Judith Conti and Fred Jacob

J.D. Practicum 1029 | 4 credit hours

There are large groups of workers who either by virtue of their wage earning capacity, their immigration status, or the type of work they perform who face uphill battles in securing basic labor and employment rights and protections. This course will examine many of the most central issues in labor and employment law from the point of view of those groups of workers, concentrating on the strategies and tools available to protect their rights to the maximum extent possible.

Students will learn to dig deeper into labor and employment law, and examine the short-comings of both fields as they pertain to the most vulnerable and marginalized workers in our society. They will learn to think and act creatively when representing marginalized people, examine what levers exist to impact public policy and access to justice for such workers, and will all gain experience with oral advocacy and critical research and legal analysis.

Students will be able to choose from placements at local workers’ rights organizations, labor unions and government agencies. All projects will endeavor to integrate research/writing with some component of field work.

Prerequisites: Students must complete the required first-year program prior to enrolling in this course (part-time and interdivisional transfer students may enroll prior to completing Criminal Justice, Property, or their first-year elective). Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Labor Law, Employment Law or Employment Discrimination.

Students may not concurrently enroll in this practicum and an externship or a clinic (except Street Law) or another practicum course.

Students who wish to receive credit for the Externship Seminar and a practicum course that has the same field placement may do so only if: (1) the practicum course is taken in a semester following the Externship Seminar; and (2) the student receives permission from the Assistant or the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs. To receive such permission, the student must explain in writing how the practicum course field work would serve substantially different learning goals than did their externship field placement.

THIS IS A PRACTICUM COURSE.

This is a 4 credit course. 2 credits will be awarded for the 2-hour weekly seminar and 2 credits for approximately 10 hours of supervised work per week, for a minimum of 11 weeks, to be scheduled with the faculty. The supervised work must be completed during normal business hours. The seminar portion will be graded. The 2 credits of supervised work is mandatory pass/fail and counts toward the 7 credit pass/fail limit. Students will be allowed to take another course pass/fail in the same semester as the supervised work.

Students who enroll in this course will be automatically enrolled in both the seminar and practicum components and may not take either component separately. A student wishing to withdraw from the course will be withdrawn from both the seminar and field work components.