Civil Justice Clinic

Faculty: Associate Dean Annette Appell, Professor Mae Quinn and Professor Kathryn Pierce
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The Civil Justice Clinic is one of  the five “live client”-representation clinical courses available to law students at Washington University School of Law. Under the direct supervision of Washington University Law faculty, students in the Civil Justice Clinic deliver justice to some of the most vulnerable children, youths and parents in the St. Louis metropolitan area and beyond. CJC students represent these clients in a variety of legal proceedings affecting their clients’ liberty interests. Primarily, this advocacy occurs in juvenile court in child protection and juvenile justice litigation, and also in such areas as education, adoption, termination of parental rights, and domestic relations. Clinic faculty and students are also likely to work collaboratively with other legal services providers working on behalf of the same communities. The clinic receives its cases by referral from the courts and also from legal services and other public interest agencies. The faculty includes Associate Dean Annette Appell, Professor Mae Quinn and Lecturer Kathryn Pierce.

Since its founding in 1973, the clinic periodically has changed focus and collaborative partnerships to meet the needs of the legal community, while coinciding with the interests and expertise of students and faculty. Throughout the years, clinic students have handled cases covering a number of areas including housing, consumer rights, public benefits, and domestic relations.

With the addition in 2008-2009 of three new faculty members with special expertise and research interests in youth and family advocacy, the CJC and its students are joining forces with others in the local and national community in the improvement and delivery of justice to youth and families. Currently, the CJC’s caseload is a mix of child welfare (abuse and neglect) and juvenile justice (delinquency) cases.

The Clinic is offered both Fall and Spring semesters and each semester is open to at least eight students certified to practice law under the Missouri student practice rule  and supervised by full-time faculty members. We expect that spring semesters will focus primarily on child welfare matters, with some juvenile justice matters, and the fall semester case load will be comprised primarily of juvenile justice matters, along with ongoing child welfare cases. Professors Quinn and Pierce will teach in the fall and Professors Appell and Pierce will teach in the spring. CJC lawyers may be representing children or parents in these and related matters.

Students enrolled in the Civil Justice Clinic attend clinic seminars twice a week and meet regularly with their professors for supervision and strategy sessions. Students receive 6 to 8 credits for their client and course work and are expected to spend an average of 21 or more hours per week in the course for 6 credits, and 28 hours per week for 8 credits, during the semester. Please note that to sign up for 8 credits, students must receive permission of the instructor. Students will receive the most from the course if they have are not overcommitted with other course or extracurricular work during the semester they are enrolled in the CJC.

Do you want to know more about the Civil Justice Clinic?  Send an e-mail to Professors Annette Appell (arappell@wulaw.wustl.edu), Mae Quinn (mquinn@wulaw.wustl.edu) or Clinic Operations Manager Katie Herr (kmherr@wulaw.wustl.edu) or visit the Registrar's office in Room 303 of Anheuser-Busch Hall.