George Mason University’s Supreme Court Clinic Offers Law Students Unique Opportunity

In said clinics, students of course, do not have the opportunity to argue cases, as they are not yet attorneys, but are involved in research, drafting briefs, and consulting with the attorney or attorneys presenting the cases.

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Other law schools offering its students similar opportunities include Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Texas.

According to the recent seattletimes.com article, “Supreme Court 101 in session at high court”, per Jeffrey Fisher, the co-director of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, is of the mind that his, and other similar clinics have contributed to the improvement of arguments before the court, and that the classes give students something big law is unable to give.

How does the clinic work? Students are supervised by a professor or a lawyer possessing significant Supreme Court experience. Students may take part in identifying cases heard in lower courts they feel the Supreme Court may want to review. When a clinic takes on a case, students are able to draft petitions to ask for the case to be heard. As well, if the court decides to hear the case, students ask for permission to assist with crafting legal briefs for the court, as well as performing research.

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While the clinics clearly offer many benefits, including unique experience, and an unparalleled prestige among peers, per the article, New York University law professor Nancy Morawetz feels there may some drawbacks. In a recent law review article, she wrote that the competition for cases, and the rush to secure one has an “ambulance-chasing quality.”

As well, she is of the mind that students should perhaps broaden their horizons; a clinic focusing on the Supreme Court may not be the best way for a student to spend his or her time, as he or she already spends a great deal of time in law school learning about this very institution.

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GMUSL's Supreme Court Clinic is offered in coordination with Washington, D.C. law firm Wiley Rein LLP and Thomas R. McCarthy manage the program. Both are partners in Wiley Rein's Appellate Group, as well as George Mason graduates.

McCarthy and Consovoy were at the Supreme Court in recent days with students from Mason's Supreme Court Clinic. There, they assisted with a case regarding time limits for prisoners challenging their convictions.

George Mason University School of Law, or GMUSL is the law school of George Mason University. GMUSL is a highly selective school, as its location is prime; as well, its reputation has continued to grow. The first-time bar passage rate for all graduates is an estimated 93%, which is one of the highest of any law school in the state.

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