The Public Interest Practicum (PIP) is a clinical course on public interest law and policy.
Client Work
Meeting Clients Where They Are
Students work in project groups to visit with clients at diverse locations in Athens, including:
• meal centers
• homeless shelters
• counseling clinics
• senior centers
PIP also accepts phone clients from around the state. Students offer advice and counsel on civil legal issues to clients under the supervision of the PIP director, who is a licensed Georgia attorney.
Service Projects
Adapting to Community Needs
Students also engage in service projects, including community presentations or creation of self-help legal materials. Projects adapt semester-by-semester depending on the needs of the community, and students have the opportunity to propose and initiate new projects.
Students Gain
Practical Experience
Interviewing Clients
Assessing Clients' Problems
Performing Legal Research
Delivering Useful Advice
Students do this in the context of a seminar that explores major issues of public interest law, access to justice, and lawyering. PIP offers a rich combination of practical, theoretical, and cross-disciplinary perspectives on the public dimensions of the lawyer’s role.
Public Interest Practicum
Enrollment
PIP is a three-credit course that includes a seminar with varied weekly assignments, reflective writing, and 5-10 hours per week of out of class work with clients and projects. Students collaborate with the professor and each other to help clients understand and solve their legal problems.
JD students may take PIP for one or two semesters at any point in the second or third year by registering through the points allocation process. If you choose to enroll for two semesters, the semesters do not need to be sequential. LLM or MSL students may take PIP with the permission of the PIP director.
PIP applies toward the law school’s practical skills requirement, and JD students may also use the course to meet the capstone writing requirement by writing a series of client letters. It usually takes two semesters of written client work to meet the requirement. All students will gain experience writing client letters and students are not required to meet the capstone requirement through PIP.
No student application is required. There are no prerequisites.