Student Opportunities

The Barton Center, a multi-disciplinary law office, provides many ways for students to participate in its work. Students can enroll in classes and clinical offerings for academic credit, be employed through the ESCAP, or volunteer as a summer intern or Know Your Rights instructor. Many of the Center's offerings are open to graduate students in a variety of disciplines; a few are limited to law students, and a few are open to Emory undergraduate students.

Appeal for Youth Clinic

Emory Law students in the Appeal for Youth Clinic provide holistic education representation for youth in the foster care system who are facing removal from school, as well as post-conviction representation for youth who are or were in the foster care system and are in juvenile detention or prison.

Children's Law Classes

Barton Center faculty offer a number of courses to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of children's law in the U.S. and internationally.

Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program (ESCAP)

ESCAP provides students from Emory and around the country with a summer opportunity to experience child advocacy in action. ESCAP participants are given an intensive training in child law and policy before spending ten weeks in a child advocacy placement in Georgia. Barton Center faculty provide continuing group meetings and substantive programming to enable participants to process what they are learning in the field.

Juvenile Defender Clinic

Emory Law students in the Juvenile Defender Clinic provide holistic legal representation for child clients in delinquency and status offense proceedings. Students may also engage in research and participate in the development of public policy related to juvenile justice issues.

Know Your Rights

Emory Law student volunteers in the Know Your Rights Program work with at-risk youth to inform them of their rights during encounters with law enforcement or during involvement in the juvenile justice system.

Legislative Advocacy Clinic

In the spring semester, Emory Law and other Emory graduate students participate in the Legislative Advocacy Clinic, interacting with legislators and elected officials around current law reforms led by Barton and its community partners. Students attend legislative hearings and present evidence-based testimony in support of initiatives. Students also provide technical assistance to legislators and other stakeholders in assessing the merits and legality of various proposals, drafting legislation, and writing policy briefs and other documents to support a position.

Public Policy Clinic

During the fall semester, Emory Law and other Emory graduate students participate in the Public Policy Clinic.  They are involved in the many facets of policy development, beginning with identifying and researching real life problems relating to children and youth. Students work in teams to interact with stakeholders and people affected by various problems, conduct data-driven research, and provide realistic options for addressing the problems. Policy development approaches may include administrative policy changes, public education, legislation, litigation, or a combination of such initiatives.

Summer Internships

The Public Policy and Juvenile Defender Clinics often offer unpaid summer internships to law and other graduate students. Most students applying for these internships secure funding through a public interest program at their law schools (such as EPIC), while some arrange to receive academic credit at their home institutions. Barton Center summer interns often participate in the ESCAP training and ESCAP activities, even though they are not ESCAP students. Students wishing to design an unpaid summer internship with the Barton Center should contact the Center Director.

Work Study Program

The Barton Center occasionally hires an Emory University work study student to assist with the administrative responsibilities of the Center. Students who have been approved for federal work study and would like to work at the Barton Center should contact the Barton Center Program Coordiantor, Franklin Lebo (franklin.lebo@emory.edu).