Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Robert Stumberg

J.D. Clinic 508 | 14 credit hours (year long)

The Harrison Institute's policy clinic provides services that enable democracy to work. The clinic supports the role of states as "laboratories of democracy" and their capacity to interact with the whole federal system. Clients of the clinic are legislators, attorneys general, regulatory agencies, citizen coalitions and Georgetown programs that support government needs. As their policy lawyers, clinic students analyze lawmaking authority, identify options for changing policy, help clients plan their strategy, and draft policy based on client choices. The clinic's work requires comparative law analysis, which involves multiple states, the laws of other countries, international standards and international trade rules. Students work in one or more project teams over two semesters: (1) health (e.g., local food policy, legal issues in health reform, regulation of health workers); (2) trade (e.g., regulation of services, foreign investor rights, subsidies, procurement); and (3) climate change (e.g., preemption and trade policy issues in mitigating greenhouse gases, adapting to sea level rise, adapting to urban heat effects). The policy clinic is open to students who have completed 28 credits. Participation: 14 students.

See clinic course description in the online Curriculum Guide or the "Clinic Enrollment Policies" in the Bulletin.

Students may not concurrently enroll in this clinic and an externship or a practicum course.