LAW PORTAL
- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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- Admissions
Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
- Alumni and Giving
- Admissions
Clinics and Practicums
USC Gould School of Law
- DEGREES
- CERTIFICATES
- + AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
- ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- BUSINESS LAW
- MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND TECHNOLOGY LAW
- PUBLIC INTEREST LAW
- + EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
- UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
- CORPORATE AND CUSTOM EDUCATION
- + NON-DEGREE PROGRAMS
- ACADEMIC CALENDAR
- COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
- BAR ADMISSIONS
Gain invaluable, hands-on legal training through our clinics and practicums. These experiential learning programs develop and hone lawyering skills of the highest caliber, building on more than 85 years of clinical education leadership. They help you build a bridge from law school to legal practice — no matter what area of practice you pursue — connecting substantive classroom knowledge to foster a strategic, rather than a formulaic, approach to clients' needs.
Students gain a leg up on their peers by developing the ability to:
- interview, counsel and advise clients
- represent clients in court
- conduct legal research and analysis
- investigate and evaluate facts
- draft briefs, contracts and agreements
- negotiate and solve problems
- collaborate with other students and attorneys
Clinics
Our clinical offerings are more in-depth and supportive than those at most law schools, which often provide only semester-long or simulated clinical experiences. Our yearlong clinics provide deep and impactful experiential learning — and often offer a second-year advanced clinic for select students. Our six clinics give students significant experience working directly with real clients under the supervision of seasoned practitioners who are leaders in their field:
Housing Law and Policy Clinic
Students in our Housing Law and Policy Clinic represent clients and work with local organizations to address complex community housing issues.
Immigration Clinic
Our Immigration Clinic provides pro bono representation to clients from all over the world who are seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian protection.
Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic
Our Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic supports clients at the leading edge of burgeoning issues in the information age, including copyright and trademark protection, privacy and First Amendment rights.
International Human Rights Clinic
From war crimes and genocide to human trafficking and crimes against humanity, our International Human Rights Clinic serves victims of some of the most urgent and devastating issues facing society.
Mediation Clinic
In our Mediation Clinic, students develop conflict resolution skills to mediate real cases at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in this rapidly growing area of the law.
Post-Conviction Justice Project
Students in our Post-Conviction Justice Project represent clients at parole hearings, litigate petitions for writs of habeas corpus and help provide a second chance at justice for life-term inmates.
Small Business Clinic
Students in our Small Business Clinic handle more than 100 transactional legal matters each year for startup companies, entrepreneurs and nonprofits.
More than 1,000 students have represented nearly 5,000 clients through our clinics. Community impact ranges from helping a small-business owner form a new entity to releasing someone who served 32 years in prison for a crime committed by her batterer.
The skills developed through our clinics transfer seamlessly to practice no matter what area of the law you end up pursuing. Most students cite their work in a clinic as the highlight of their law school experience.
Practicums
Explore a substantive legal issue in depth while gaining hands-on experience working with clients through one of our practicums:
Access to Justice Practicum
Work closely with faculty and outside advocates on real-world projects involving important civil rights, poverty law or access to justice issues for low-income people. You will join a project team and gain experience in litigation, amicus briefs and/or drafting legislation, reports or advocacy manuals.
Past projects have included:
- foster care impact litigation cases
- a report on working conditions in California's underground economy
- amicus briefs to the Ninth Circuit, California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeal in housing, disability rights, Freedom of Information Act and labor cases
Up to four JD students may enroll in the practicum, and you will receive academic credit for the course.
Children's Legal Issues Practicum
Assist a family from start to finish in finalizing a foster child adoption and gain experience in California's child welfare system, juvenile court system, and foster care and adoption law. You will also learn about special education and mental health services for foster children with special needs, as well as techniques to successfully advocate for eligibility and increased funding.
Under the supervision of a public counsel attorney, students:
- conduct new client interviews
- complete legal documents
- assess legal issues
- assess the level of services and benefits received by children
- assist attorneys with casework
- conduct legal research
Up to five JD students may enroll in the practicum, and you will receive academic credit for the course.
Medical-Legal Community Partnership Seminar and Practicum
Partner with students from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Price School of Public Policy to work in medical-legal community partnerships with attorneys from Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.
Learn about legal issues including access to medical care and addressing community barriers to health, such as medical debt, income and food insecurity, employment issues, landlord/tenant disputes, immigration and family law.
Under the supervision of an attorney, you will:
- interview clients
- draft legal memoranda and legal advice or advocacy letters
- work on litigation and policy advocacy
- resolve cases
Up to eight JD students may enroll in the practicum, and you will receive academic credit for the course.
Veterans Legal Practicum
Partner with Veterans Legal Institute to assist former servicemembers of the United States Armed Forces with legal issues stemming from the visible and invisible wounds of war.
Learn about legal issues including discharge upgrades, moral injury, military sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and administrative appeals within the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Under the supervision of an attorney, you will:
- interview clients
- draft legal memoranda and legal advice or advocacy letters
- work on litigation and policy advocacy
- resolve cases
Up to ten JD students may enroll in the practicum, and you will receive academic credit for the course.
RECENT NEWS
‘The Best Beloved Thing is Justice’
June 1, 2023
New book by Gould alum Lisa Kloppenberg celebrates life of Judge and former Dean Dorothy W. Nelson
USC Gould Title IX trailblazer works to put more women in leadership roles
May 30, 2023
"If we can continue moving forward, the future is very bright," says Associate Dean Nickey Woods
USC Gould Commencement Day 2023 - Ceremony Videos
May 12, 2023
Join the USC Gould School of Law in celebrating the accomplishments of the Class of 2023!
