Juvenile Defender Clinic

The three-credit Juvenile Defender Clinic is an in-house legal clinic dedicated to providing holistic legal representation for children in delinquency and status offense proceedings. Student attorneys represent child clients in juvenile court and provide legal advocacy in the areas of school discipline, special education, mental health, and public benefits when such advocacy is derivative of a client’s juvenile court case.

Pursuant to Georgia’s Third Year Practice Act, under the supervision of the clinic’s managing attorney, the students are responsible for handling all aspects of client representation.  As such, students establish an attorney-client relationship with their client, direct case strategy determinations, investigate allegations, interview witnesses, negotiate dispositions, prepare and litigate motions, and try cases. Students may also engage in research and participate in the development of public policy related to juvenile justice issues

The Juvenile Defender Clinic is offered during the fall and spring semesters. Students work a minimum of 150 hours during the semester to receive three graded academic credits. To enroll in the Juvenile Defender Clinic, students must have taken or be concurrently enrolled in Kids in Conflict with the Law.

APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING 2022 ARE NO LONGER BEING ACCEPTED