The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law received a high grade for its practical training that includes clinics, options for externships and opportunities to be part of moot court teams competing against top law schools across the country.
In the spring 2020 issue of preLaw magazine, the UH law school earned a B+ rating for its practical training offerings, including its requirement of 60 hours of pro bono service from each student before graduation.
“Our school is proud to provide a wide array of clinics in which students have the opportunity to work with real clients alongside faculty and local attorneys,” said UH School of Law Dean Avi Soifer. “They learn to face and help people with real life problems, even before they become lawyers.”
The UH law school’s Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic has been especially active this year while working with migrant families, many of whom live on Hawaiʻi Island and are seeking asylum. Under the direction of Clinic Director John Egan, UH law students offer free legal assistance to families who often speak little or no English. The migrants are often fleeing terrible violence in their home countries such as Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
The clinic program was bolstered in 2019 with a new building that provides space for client visits, as well as for clinic law students to work.
While the refugee and immigration clinic has been especially active, it is only one of a dozen clinics offered at the UH law school that provide the experiences that law students often say are the most rewarding of their law school years.
For more see the UH law school website.
–By Beverly Creamer
