Student practitioners in the Transactional Clinic provide legal services and counseling to clients seeking support on transactional (i.e. non-litigious) matters. These clients are primarily, though not exclusively, individuals, businesses, and organizations who work in creative industries. Students enrolled in the clinic will have the opportunity to counsel clients on a range of transactional law matters, including business entity formation, intellectual property counseling, and contract drafting, review, and negotiation (to name a few). Students can expect to gain hands-on experience in conducting interviews, drafting transactional documents, preparing and filing copyright and trademark applications, and legal research and writing.
The types of clients in the clinic vary. They may include songwriters, recording artists, clothing designers, film producers, nonprofit organizations, and social entrepreneurs from immigrant communities and communities of color. The clinic is appropriate for students interested in any practice of transactional law and may be of particular interest to students who want to work with clients in creative industries.
This full-year clinic requires student attendance as a two-hour per week seminar, which counts for 2-credits per semester (4 total credits for the school year). The seminar will primarily focus on preparation for direct client representation and will also include discussions on economic inequities in the creative industries and the implications of such inequities on the practice of law. Such preparation will include primer sessions on relevant laws (e.g. copyright law, trademark law, and nonprofit compliance law), as well as sessions intended to develop the soft skills involved in client representation and counseling (e.g., contract drafting and review, negotiation, advising).The case work, which constitutes 3-credits per semester (6 total credits for the school year) requires a minimum of 13 hours of work per week outside of class and supervision meetings, with more time being required some weeks and less on other weeks. Depending on the needs of clients, students may have client meetings and presentations in the evenings and on weekends.
Accepted students must have successfully completed or be concurrently enrolled in Evidence, as such is required to be certified as a Supreme Judicial Court's Student Practitioner, pursuant to SJC Rule 3:03. There are no other prerequisites or corequisites to Transactional Clinic, although Business Entity Fundamentals (prior to or concurrently with the Clinic) is recommended.
If you have any questions, please contact Professor Sam Koolaq at [email protected].