Legislative ClinicFounded: 1997
The Legislative Clinic at Penn Law is one of only a handful of legislative clinical programs in the nation devoted exclusively to legislative lawyering and the formation of public policy. Students get first-hand experience in legislative lawyering through the combination of state and federal legislative placements and classroom readings, discussions, simulations, and legislative drafting exercises. Placements generally are in Harrisburg or Washington, D.C., and in past semesters have included the U.S. and Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committees, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Office of Legislative Counsel, the General Accounting Office, and various offices of leading senators and representatives. Students may also assist state and national non-profit organizations seeking legislative change. In their field work, students engage in a broad range of legislative activity, including the drafting of proposed legislation; preparing legislators and staff for important committee hearings and meetings with lobbyists; and conducting research and analysis in order to develop legislative solutions to public policy issues and individual constituent concerns. Through the combination of classroom and field work, students gain a deeper understanding of federal and state legislative process, legislative drafting, theories of statutory interpretation, constitutional restrictions on lawmaking, legislative advocacy, lobbying accountability and disclosure, and ethical issues confronting legislative lawyers – and they have a unique opportunity to be directly involved with some of the most important public policy issues of our time.
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