The development of legal skills and ethical values is central to legal education. To aid in this development and to assist the needy in our local communities, UMass Law offers its students several opportunities.

Community engagement

Legal clinics are law offices operated by the law school. They are located both on campus and at off-campus locations.

Those participating in the law school's legal clinics offer clients, who otherwise would be unrepresented, the chance to benefit from quality legal representation for their claims.

Students involved in clinics represent low-income clients both in court and at administrative hearings under the supervision of faculty members and/or experienced practitioners. Students also counsel clients on a variety of legal matters outside the courtroom setting.

Real-world skill building

In addition to the assistance provided to local residents, a legal clinic offers much to its student representatives -- a chance to develop technical "lawyering skills" as well as to grapple with the ethical issues that present themselves daily in the practice of law. This experience is a prime way for students to put into action the knowledge they have gained during their classroom experience.

Law school no longer remains an academic exercise; rather, it becomes a real-life experience.

Legal clinics are not the only ways in which law students develop their practice skills and ethical values. UMass Law offers other programs that help students achieve these competencies. For example, the skills of legal research, analysis, and writing are developed through the required Legal Skills curriculum. Lawyering skills and awareness of ethical values can be gained through the Field Placement Program. Through the Pro Bono Program students offer legal help to needy residents of our community.