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By Theresa Johnston
Director: William Koski (PhD '03)
Year Founded: 2001
Number of students per semester: 8 to 14
What it does: Conducts educational rights and reform work, including
direct representation of youth and families in special education and
school discipline matters, community outreach and education, school
reform litigation, policy research, and advocacy.
MID-MARCH WAS A TIME FOR CELEBRATION at Stanford Law School's Youth and Education Law Clinic. Students in the program had been working for months with attorneys from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Legal Service for Children, Inc. on a class-action suit against the Berkeley (California) Unified School District alleging that it had wrongfully removed three minority teenagers from the city's sole high school without proper hearings.
In an out-of-court settlement, the district agreed to revamp its school discipline procedures to ensure fair hearings in the future, let all wrongfully excluded youths return to school immediately, offered counseling and tutoring to help them make up for lost time, and said it would create a plan to reduce the disproportionate number of African-American and Latino students recommended for disciplinary actions.
"I am very pleased with the settlement," the plaintiff's mother Lugertha Smith told the press, "because it not only affects my son, but it will prevent other students from being mistreated in the future."
According to clinic director William Koski (PhD '03), associate professor of law (teaching), the Berkeley suit is just one of a string of interesting advocacy projects and individual cases that students have taken on since the clinic's founding in 2001. Last year, students collected data and conducted local case studies to assess the delivery of mental health services in the California education system. The resulting report influenced the passage of Senate Bill 1895, which mandates better tracking of youngsters with disabilities.
Other students have been trying to help a student Koski refers to as Brian (not his real name), a smart second grader who had a number of behavioral problems stemming from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. Rather than providing appropriate behavioral interventions, Brian's school obtained a judicial restraining order against him to keep him out of school. With the assistance of the clinic and through extensive advocacy and mediation, Brian has been placed in an appropriate educational setting to receive the support he needs.
As Koski explained, "Students working on Brian's case have had an opportunity to do just about everything that a lawyer's going to do, including client counseling, intensive document review, intensive legal research, drafting of pleadings, organization of exhibits for trial, and formal mediation." But he thinks the greatest skill they take from the clinic is something intangible: better professional judgment.
Gabriel Soledad, a third-year law student from El Paso, Texas, calls his time in the clinic "an incredibly rewarding experience" that has satisfied both his desire to learn more about the education system and his sincere wish to help the disadvantaged. "It has forced me to face difficult issues," he added. "Regardless of whether I remain a lawyer or choose to pursue policy solutions to these important issues, the experience I have had in this clinic will be instructive in my thinking."
Director: Jayashri Srikantiah
Year founded: 2005
Number of students per semester: 8 to 10
What it does: Represents immigrants in deportation proceedings, cases securing
rights for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, community outreach, public
education, and policy advocacy.
SONYA SANCHEZ '06 ISN'T A LAWYER YET. But thanks to Stanford's new Immigrants' Rights Clinic, she is already helping two poor immigrant clients—one from Mexico and the other from Eastern Europe. Both women fled abusive husbands and need Sanchez's free legal assistance to maintain their residency in the United States. "I feel very comfortable with these types of clients," said Sanchez, a New Mexico native who previously advocated for Native American domestic violence survivors in her home state. "It's rewarding to be able to work with such strong women and feel that maybe I can do something to empower them."
To prepare to argue their cases, students in the Immigrants' Rights Clinic interview clients and witnesses, investigate facts, write pleadings, develop strategies, and conduct their own legal research. Some, like Sanchez, are working to secure rights for local immigrant survivors of domestic violence under portions of the Violence Against Women Act passed by Congress in 2000. Others are representing immigrants who face deportation proceedings because of very old or minor criminal convictions.
According to clinic director Jayashri Srikantiah, associate professor of law (teaching), the need for such services is great—particularly in California's San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, where about one-third of the population is foreign-born. "In terms of deportation defense, there are almost no organizations that provide pro bono services, so we really are serving almost a desperate need," said the India-born Srikantiah. "Unlike criminal defendants, immigrants in deportation proceedings are not entitled to free court-appointed lawyers, so they just end up representing themselves. It's often a really sad situation."
In addition to representing clients referred by local immigration agencies, clinic students attend seminars on immigration law and do advocacy work on behalf of local immigrants' rights organizations. Sanchez is busy working on a feasibility assessment for an on-site law project at Next Door, a Santa Clara County agency working with victims of domestic violence. Several students are looking into prison conditions for immigrant detainees in Northern California.
Two others, Yulia Garteiser '06 and Nicholas Jabbour '05, have been working with Srikantiah and Cristina Valadez, a staff attorney for Bay Area Legal Aid, to create a know-your-rights brochure for elderly, blind, or disabled noncitizens who need public assistance. Valadez notes that both students come from immigrant backgrounds, have keen legal research and writing skills, and "have been eager to develop a quality informational packet that will assist clients for years to come." In return, she said, they'll have "the personal satisfaction of helping a very vulnerable and needy subset of the vast low-income immigrant population in the Bay Area."
Director: Deborah Sivas '87
Year founded: 1997
Number of students per semester: 8 to 10
What it does: Provides legal counsel to national, regional, and grassroots
nonprofit organizations on a variety of environmental issues, with a focus on
complex natural resource conservation and biodiversity matters.
AT JUST 3 CENTIMETERS IN LENGTH, the Asian clam looks harmless. But since its accidental introduction into San Francisco Bay 10 years ago—probably through the ballast tank of a freighter—the voracious little mollusk has been wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem, carpeting the bay floor and sucking up the food sources of young salmon and striped bass. According to Sarah Newkirk of the San Francisco–based Ocean Conservancy, the problem can be traced to an old Environmental Protection Agency loophole that leaves ship discharges virtually unregulated under the Clean Water Act.
"We believe that invasive species are a pollutant," Newkirk said, "and that ships are a source." So last year, the Ocean Conservancy and several other nonprofit environmental organizations teamed up with Stanford's Environmental Law Clinic to challenge the exemption. Students Peter Morgan '06 and Bethany Davis '05 wrote the briefs and were responsible for arguing the case at a January hearing in San Francisco's Federal District Court—heady stuff for such young practitioners.
When the verdict finally came out strongly in their favor last April, it was "more than we ever expected," said Morgan, who hopes to stay in environmental law after graduation. "The judge [Hon. Susan Y. Illston '73] found for our clients all the way down the line. What was most exciting for me was to recognize in the judge's opinion a lot of the language we used in our briefs and our oral arguments." The government almost certainly will appeal, he added, "but for now this is a huge victory for our clients."
The clinic represents a wide spectrum of groups, from large national organizations like the Sierra Club, to small, grassroots local groups with names like Voices of the Wetlands, Friends of Hope Valley, and Coastal Alliance on Power Expansion, notes clinic director Deborah Sivas '87, lecturer in law.
Some of Sivas's students have been working to protect California coastal estuaries from the impacts of cooling water systems at power plants. Others have been trying to reduce the number of endangered sea turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals unintentionally captured by gill-net fisheries. One of the clinic's lawsuits resulted in seasonal closures and changes in fishing gear to protect certain species of fish. Still others are trying to tighten controls on logging discharges and pesticide runoff in irrigation water. Like the highly publicized ballast water case, Sivas said, "Victories in these cases could have nationwide implications for future management of these pollution sources."
Codirectors: Pamela S. Karlan, Thomas C. Goldstein, and
Amy Howe
Year founded: 2004
Number of students per semester: 9
What it does: Litigates before the Supreme Court of the United States. Cases
are selected for their teaching value from a variety of substantive
areas.
STUDENTS IN STANFORD LAW SCHOOL'S Supreme Court Litigation Clinic have a track record that many law firms would envy. The first four petitions for certiorari they drafted after the clinic's inception last year were all granted by the Supreme Court. Among them was Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line, which asked whether the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to foreign-flagged cruise ships.
Working with clinic codirector Thomas C. Goldstein, lecturer in law and partner at Goldstein & Howe, PC, students did intensive research on marine extraterritoriality, and drafted and edited the brief and reply brief for the petitioners. Then, in February, they went to Washington, D.C. "Despite our valiant efforts, we were not asked to do the arguments for the case," joked Nathaniel Garrett '06 to his classmates during a recent clinic information session. (Students are not allowed to appear before the Supreme Court.)
But the students did help Goldstein prepare for his oral argument, met with the court clerk and reporters, and got a real feel for how the High Court operates. Lauren Kofke '06, who also traveled to D.C., said the best part "was definitely the chance to attend the oral argument. It was fascinating to see how the Court worked and how they addressed the case."
In June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the clinic's legal position. That's one of the reasons why Stanford law students are queuing up for coveted spots on this clinic's roster. Unlike Stanford's other clinics, which concentrate on particular substantive areas, the Supreme Court program focuses on a single forum. It also has a reputation for being particularly writing-intensive. "We spend a lot of time learning some of the inside baseball of the Court that you might not pick up in a constitutional law course," said codirector Pamela S. Karlan, Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law, "and our cases really run the gamut in terms of substantive area."
Other cases the clinic has tackled include Rousey v. Jacoway, which asked whether individuals who go bankrupt can retain funds in their individual retirement accounts, and Smith v. City of Jackson, which asked that the court expand the rights of older workers to sue for age discrimination. Karlan argued the Rousey case before the Supreme Court, and Goldstein argued the Smith case. In both instances the Court issued rulings adopting the legal positions advanced by the clinic.
Sharon Samek '87, a Tampa, Florida–based lawyer who worked with clinic students last year on a case involving the federal money laundering conspiracy statute, says Stanford students provided her with new insights into a case that she had been working on for several years. "The ease with which the students picked up some very difficult concepts was amazing," she added. "As a solo practitioner, I get used to my own way of doing things, but working with the incredible Stanford team taught me new ways. I think I will forever be a better appellate advocate as a result of their hard work."
Director: Jennifer Stisa Granick
Year founded: 2001
Number of students per semester: 10
What it does: Conducts computer- and Internet-related litigation, policy
research, and advocacy.
CYBERLAW CLINIC DIRECTOR JENNIFER STISA GRANICK, executive director of the Center for Internet and Society and lecturer in law, has an unusual thank-you gift sitting in her law school office: a florid pink ceramic pig wearing a yellow vest with the Stanford Law School Frond of Service on its lapel. The present came from a Chinese immigrant client who handcrafts piggybanks and sells them on the Internet. This woman's URL, www.piggybankofamerica.com, caught the attention of lawyers at that much better-known financial institution, Bank of America, and they threatened to file suit against her for trademark infringement.
But thanks to students in Granick's clinic, Caroline O. (who did not want her last name used) was able to fight the lawsuit. Today, she happily peddles her piggies in peace. "It has been over two years since Bank of America stopped sending me letters," said a relieved Caroline O. "I am very thankful that the Cyberlaw Clinic stood by what is right: protecting small companies."
Students at the Cyberlaw Clinic spend a lot of time thinking about civil liberties and the way they're affected by changes in technology. As Granick explained, "Our cases involve things like free speech, privacy, the right to innovate, and the right to speak anonymously online. We've had cases that defend fair use and the First Amendment against the expansion of copyright doctrine, and cases where we were working with the ACLU to analyze the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and make some determination of whether it has been useful in fighting terrorism, or terrible for privacy and civil liberties."
This semester, one student team is working to defend some cartoonists who posted a Southeast Indian–flavored spoof of The Simpsons on their website, much to the annoyance of Fox Television. Another team has filed amicus briefs before the Supreme Court in a case involving the important question of how broadband will be regulated in the future.
Granick says one of the best things about the Cyberlaw Clinic is the opportunity it gives students to practice law in an area without a lot of precedent. James Darrow '06, a student with an interest in intellectual property issues, agrees. "As it turns out, applying old law to the virtual world is very hard, and no one knows how to do it, not even [the instructor] all the time," he said. "It's something we talk a lot about and care a lot about." Darrow said the Cyberlaw Clinic is ideal for any student who's interested "in an extraordinary, very difficult intellectual experience, and spending a lot of time talking about it with smart people." It's also great for students who think they're excellent writers, he said, "because you'll join the clinic and find out you're not really that good." Since he enrolled, he admitted, "my own writing has improved by leaps and bounds."
Codirectors: George Fisher and Margo Smith '75
Year founded: 1996
Number of students per semester: 6 (fall semester only)
What it does: Prosecutes cases at the San Jose Superior Court under the
guidance of Santa Clara County prosecutors and faculty supervisors.
STANFORD'S CRIMINAL PROSECUTION CLINIC may be small, but its hardworking students have left a big impression on Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy. "I have interacted with nearly all of the clinic students over the past nine years and have made myself available for informal, candid answers to any questions," he noted. "Having them here is catalytic. . . . I am enormously proud of our association [with Stanford Law School]."
Students in the Criminal Prosecution Clinic learn basic case preparation and courtroom skills on campus in a trial advocacy class, then spend Thursdays and Fridays working on their own cases under the watchful eyes of prosecutors at the DA's office in San Jose, coordinated by longtime prosecutor and clinic codirector Margo Smith '75. Jennifer Chou '05 likes the prosecution clinic because "unlike school, where we mostly deal with issues of federal law, this is a way of getting down and dirty in the local and state action."
Chou's classmate Cynthia Inda '05 appreciates the close attention she's received. "First, the class is really small, which means you have a lot of opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas with the professor in depth," said Inda. "Second, Professor [George] Fisher sets aside a lot of extra time for us individually. He schedules an hour a week, every week, to meet one on one with each of the students in the clinic. And if any of us has a hearing coming up, he spends even more time with us—even if it means discussing the issues or listening to us practice over the phone late at night on a Sunday!"
According to clinic codirector George Fisher, Judge John Crown Professor of Law, students in the prosecution clinic frequently find themselves confronting ethical issues. Last fall, for example, all six students were assigned cases involving defendants who were trying to have a conviction stricken from their record under the California three strikes law. In several of the cases, the third strike was failing to register as a sex offender. "Most students don't like the three strikes law," he explained, "and most don't like sex offender registration laws either, so this really put them to the test of deciding what they would and would not do."
Fortunately, Fisher added, "The clinic gives students a chance to talk with me about their reactions to the cases they've had. And students help each other with their ethical questions and help each other to come up with solutions." Toward the end of the term, the classroom focus shifts to an examination and critique of local mechanisms of criminal justice. Among the topics covered: the institutional strengths and weaknesses of the actors in the system, and the impact of race, gender, and class on the quality of justice.
Director: Peter H. Reid (BA '64)
Year founded: 2002
Number of students per semester: 18 to 22
What it does: Helps low-income clients with landlord-tenant disputes,
employment issues, and government benefit claims.
AS CLAIRE MCCORMACK '05 RECALLS, her first year at Stanford Law School was a bit of a grind. "We'd read, and we'd study, we'd take the tests and learn things," the New York native explained, "but we weren't doing anything with it." Then she enrolled in the Stanford Community Law Clinic on University Avenue in East Palo Alto, where law students earn academic credit while helping low-income mostly, Latino and African-American, clients.
McCormack found the experience so rewarding that she enrolled again for a second semester—then for a third. "It's definitely been the best experience I've had in law school," said the aspiring prosecutor. "It's just amazing how the little bit of knowledge we law students have—and it's just a little bit—can help people, and what a huge difference we can make."
McCormack's most memorable case involved Mexican day laborers hired for landscaping work. Toiling under the August sun, the men hauled dirt 10 hours a day for 15 days, and all they got was an occasional lunch—no wages. Working under the close supervision of clinic attorney Margaret Stevenson, McCormack attempted to negotiate with the employer for the back pay plus penalties. When that didn't pan out, she helped her Spanish-speaking clients prepare for their day in small claims court.
At first it was frustrating—Nicasio, the eldest worker and de facto spokesman for the group, kept starting in the middle of his story and would skip important details. But after some advice from McCormack, and some practice at home, by the next day "he could tell his story coherently," McCormack recalled proudly. Collecting the judgment took McCormack more months of hard work, but last December, her clients finally got their money. "That was my Christmas present," she said, beaming. "In the end, the system worked for them."
McCormack and other students enrolled in the Community Law Clinic help about 500 clients each year, handling all aspects of their cases from initial interviews through hearing, trial, or other resolution. They're also required to work on projects addressing broader issues that affect the local community, such as unfair business practices in local restaurants and mandatory meal plans in nursing homes.
"The students are just incredibly bright, committed, and hard-working," said clinic director Peter H. Reid (BA '64), lecturer in law, who served as executive director of the San Mateo Legal Aid Society for many years. "We learn as much from them as they learn from us." That's good news for people like Marco Cedillo, another Spanish-speaking laborer who received a recent judgment for back wages. As he explains through the clinic interpreter, students working on his case went beyond the call of duty in helping him locate the man who owed him money for his auto detailing work. "I was more than happy," he said, "very satisfied, with the work the students did for me."