Law and Public Policy Clinic
The Law and Public Policy Clinic provides students with an opportunity to work for clients such as state and local government, community-based groups, and not for profit agencies on problems involving law and public policy.
Clinic projects have included (client in parentheses): a study of "ethics in government" legislation in various states and recommendations for changes in Ohio law (Ohio Ethics Commission); a study of policy alternatives for abatement of lead paint in residential housing (City of Cleveland Health Department); analyses of affirmative action government contracting programs (Cuyahoga County and Lorain County); and, most recently, an evaluation of options for addressing the problem of vacant and abandoned properties in urban areas for a non-profit advocacy group (Rebuild Ohio).
Clinic students can except to be involved in several of the following tasks:
- legal and historical research
- consultation with clients and their constituencies
- analysis of legal and policy issues
- drafting legal memoranda and correspondence
- presentations to clients
Training and supervision in the Law and Public Policy Clinic is provided primarily by the Clinic’s Director, Professor Alan Weinstein, who holds a joint appointment in the College of Law and the College of Urban Affairs; by other College of Law faculty and by faculty and research staff in the College of Urban Affairs.
See Financial Assistance to Small Businesses as an element in a Race-Neutral Small Business Assistance Program as an example of work students produce in this Clinic.