| LW.12501/LW.12464 Professor Christine Billy Professor Hilary Meltzer Open to 2L and 3L students Maximum of 10 students |
Fall semester 5 credits* Prerequisites: None. Recommended: Law of NYC, Local Government Law |
Course Description and Expected Learning Outcomes
"Representing New York City" provides an overview of work as an attorney for New York City. With approximately 850 attorneys working on a diverse range of matters including litigation in state and federal court, advice and counsel on local legislation and regulation, major real estate transactions involving city-owned land and other land use planning issues, and juvenile delinquency hearings before the Family Court, the Law Department, under the supervision of the NYC Corporation Counsel, has the legal responsibility of representing the largest and most complex city in the United States. Students enrolled in Representing New York City will work in one of the Law Department’s divisions, or in an agency counsel’s office, where they will perform research and writing under the supervision of assistant corporation counsels or other municipal counsel who serve as site supervisors. Students will also meet together weekly in seminar to discuss legal and policy topics that arise in connection with representing a municipal institution like New York City. Each student will prepare a final project proposing law or policy reform through legislation, rulemaking, litigation or otherwise, to present to a municipal official at the end of the semester. Through each of these elements, students will gain experience approaching problems as a lawyer representing New York City would. Classroom sessions will regularly include opportunities to learn and use a variety of legal skills, including counseling, negotiation, and collaboration. Throughout our discussions in the seminar and in the externships, students will have opportunities to learn to identify and evaluate the impacts of bias and race on participants in litigation, negotiation, and other elements of legal practice and to develop cross-cultural competency in your lawyering role.
Fieldwork
This will involve 10 hours per week of work at the Law Department, where students will be assigned to a particular division such as Labor and Employment, Commercial and Real Estate Litigation, Environmental Law, Toxic and Mass Torts, Economic Development, Legal Counsel, or Affirmative Litigation. Students may also be placed in the counsel’s office at an agency. Students will work on current litigation and counseling matters presenting public law issues of importance to the City.
Seminar
Students will meet weekly to discuss legal and policy topics affecting the City. Many of these weekly seminar sessions will include speakers from the Law Department and other city agencies to discuss how the City is addressing various policy or legal problems.
Application Procedure
Students interested in applying for the clinic should submit the standard application, resume, and transcript online through CAMS. Students may then be contacted for a telephone interview.
* The credits consist of 3 clinical (fieldwork) credits for working 10 hours per week at the New York City Law Department or an agency counsel’s office, and 2 academic seminar credits per semester. This class is graded for both the fieldwork and the seminar. The final project for the seminar may be used to satisfy Writing Option B upon request.