Renowned legal advocacy organization the Innocence Project has entered into a new partnership with NYU School of Law that will provide NYU Law students with invaluable hands-on exposure to wrongful-conviction litigation and advocacy.
Beginning September 2025, NYU Law will offer a two-semester clinic that allows students to work on Innocence Project cases and learn about post-conviction wrongful-conviction litigation, as well as gain access to some of the country’s leading experts on wrongful conviction.
The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld ’75 with a mission to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions and create fair, equitable, and compassionate systems of justice. Since then, the organization has helped to free or exonerate more than 250 people who, collectively, have spent nearly 4000 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. It has also helped to pass more than 250 legislative reforms to help prevent wrongful conviction and provide compensation.
“It would be difficult to think of a legal organization whose values more closely align with ours than the Innocence Project,” said Troy McKenzie ’00, dean and Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. “For decades they have been trailblazers in harnessing scientific advancements to protect the wrongfully imprisoned—and in using the lessons learned to advocate for a more just legal system for everyone. I’m delighted to be able to give NYU Law students the opportunity to develop their legal skills in this exciting environment.”
The NYU/Innocence Project post-conviction litigation clinic will be led by senior attorneys at the Innocence Project and will offer NYU Law students an opportunity to get hands-on experience in post-conviction litigation, working on cases presenting strong claims of innocence. “This is an incredibly powerful partnership—the Innocence Project is one of the most transformative criminal legal reform organizations in the country and NYU is a pioneer in the field of public interest law that draws the nation’s best and brightest students and scholars,” said Christina Swarns, executive director of the Innocence Project.
The partnership will also allow for students from other NYU schools to engage with Innocence Project teams working on exoneration cases, legislative policy reform, data science, research analysis on issues relating to wrongful convictions, the provision of social work support to clients and their families in the lead-up to and following release from prison, and the evaluation of thousands of requests for representation that the Innocence Project receives each year.
“The Innocence Project is a perfect addition to our clinical community not simply because of the transformative work it performs, but also because our students’ commitment to social justice is so well aligned with its mission,” said Deborah Archer, associate dean for experiential education and clinical programs and the Margaret B. Hoppin Professor of Clinical Law.
Posted March 5, 2025