The Mason Spirit

Free speech, innovation, immigration, and mental health are just the beginning. Here are four more clinics that provide students with experiential learning opportunities.

Music to Their Ears

From artists to nonprofits to small businesses, students in the Arts and Entertainment Advocacy Clinic gain experience interviewing clients, clearing rights for their artistic projects, and advising them on contracts and next steps.

“[The clinic] provided such a wonderful experience for me as a law student, and I want to assist in providing other students with that same kind of hands-on learning and experience,” says Terrica Carrington, JD ’16, a Scalia Law adjunct professor who volunteers as a supervising attorney for the clinic and is vice president of legal policy and copyright counsel at the Copyright Alliance in Washington, D.C. “It’s the kind of experience I went to law school to get.”

Serving the Troops

Established in response to the legal needs of deployed servicemembers after the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) provides free representation to active-duty members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families, while offering law students practical legal advocacy experience. Since its inception, M-VETS has served more 250 clients and provided the equivalent of more than $3.3 million in pro bono legal services.

Agency Activity

In the Administrative Law Clinic, students work closely with practicing attorneys at Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC to learn about all aspects of administrative law. Monitoring agency activity, analyzing legislative proposals, conducting research, and drafting comments and briefs before agencies and in-action litigation are all highlights of the clinic.

Supreme Experience

Students in the Supreme Court Clinic provide pro bono legal representation before the U.S. Supreme Court. By working on briefs for real clients, they not only learn how the Supreme Court takes and decides cases, but also gain insight into the practice of law at the highest level of the U.S. judicial system.