Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies

Director's Welcome

Welcome to Penn Law's nationally acclaimed Clinical Program.

Our comprehensive teaching law office prepares students to become skilled practitioners by applying theory learned in the classroom to the realities of actual legal problems. Students also experience the challenges and satisfaction of representing real clients in need of legal services, while benefiting from first-rate faculty supervision and guidance.

Our program's unique design offers choices in every major lawyering area (litigation, transactional lawyering, mediation, legislation) and specialized options in inter-disciplinary child advocacy, criminal defense and the study of public interest lawyering. The caliber of our clinical faculty is unmatched, with a core of superb full-time lawyer-teachers who bring an average of nearly twenty years of public interest or private practice experience to the task of student supervision. The design of our state-of-the-art facilities maximize both student learning and give clients the highest quality service.

I am pleased to announce that we launched our newest real case clinic in transnational lawyering in fall 2006. This initiative is the natural outgrowth of Penn Law's strength in both international studies and a cross-disciplinary approach to legal education. Student casework may include immigration-related and human rights matters, international transactions or development work and/or global public policy projects in this field.

Please read on to learn more about the program of which we are so proud.

Douglas N. Frenkel
Practice Professor & Director of Clinical Programs