Clinics and Field Placements

The Fredric G. Levin College of Law Clinics and Field Placements are faculty-supervised, advice, representation, and mediation clinics that integrate the college’s nationally-ranked scholarship with applied lawyering, mediation, and problem-solving skills developed through simulation courses and by providing legal services in the state attorney’s office, public defender’s office, or a fully-operational law clinic.

Students enrolled in our clinics gain real-world legal skills through participation with real clients alongside experienced clinical faculty.

Virgil D. Hawkins Civil Legal Clinics

Environmental and Community Development Clinic

The Environmental and Community Development Clinic, directed by Professor Thomas Hawkins, provides upper-level environmental law students and graduate students in conservation related fields with exposure to environmental and land use professional practice, applied research and public policy analysis under the supervision of the instructor/clinic director.

Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic

Students in our Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic, directed by Professor Stacey Steinberg, provides holistic legal representation to children and partners with juvenile law attorneys to advocate for young clients in foster care.

Immigration Clinic

The Immigration Clinic, directed by Professor Juan Caballero, provides students with the opportunity to represent low-income immigrant clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigration courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Students have long worked on a variety of cases involving naturalization, asylum, VAWA, and U-visa requests.

Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic

The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, directed by Professor Derek Wheeler, provides representation to low-income taxpayers who have disputes with the IRS. The LITC also provides educational outreach to vulnerable populations and systemic advocacy to help create a more equitable tax system for all.

Mediation Clinic

Students in our  Mediation Clinic, directed by Professor Donna Erez-Navot, mediate small claims and federal employment discrimination cases.

Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic

In the Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic, directed by Professor Judy Clausen, students assist veterans and their family members with appeals to the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, claims before the VA regional office, amicus briefs before the Federal Circuit and SCOTUS, petitions for VA rulemaking and comments on proposed VA rules, discharge upgrades, know your rights presentations to veterans and future military officers, and research papers for judge advocates providing legal assistance to military personnel.

Criminal Law Field Placements

UF Law offers three unique Criminal Law Field Placements. In each placement, students participate in every aspect of the trial process, including selecting a jury, arguing motions, presenting opening statements, examining witnesses, and delivering closing arguments.

Prosecution Field Placement

Students in the Prosecution Field Placement, supervised by Professor Sarah Wolking, work in the State Attorney’s Office for the Eighth Judicial Circuit prosecuting misdemeanors and felonies.

Wrongful Convictions Clinic Field Placement

Students in our Wrongful Convictions Clinic Field Placement, also supervised by Professor Sarah Wolking, review petitions for factual innocence submitted by those convicted of felonies in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. This clinic is offered in the Fall.

Public Defender Field Placement

Students in our Public Defender Field Placement, supervised by Professor M Smith, zealously advocate on behalf of indigent clients for the Office of the Public Defender for the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

Individuals seeking to connect with the clinics may contact the clinical faculty here. Students interested in learning more about our clinics, the application process, and Certified Legal Intern process and rules may refer to the Experiential Learning section in the Student Resources page on Canvas.

The Florida Constitutional Law Endowment in memory of Justice Ben F. Overton was created by Judge Karen Miller in 2013. This fund supports lectures and presentations by Justices of the Florida Supreme Court at the Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

HISTORY

Justice Overton, who earned his B.S. in 1951 and his Juris Doctor in 1952 from the University of Florida, was the first merit appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Throughout his career he was active in legal education and served as an Adjunct Professor at the Levin College of Law through December 2012, the month of his death. Although he resided at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a continuing care retirement community developed in cooperation with UF, he also considered the Florida Supreme Court “home.” Among the high points of his later years was hosting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court in Gainesville and taking his class to Tallahassee to hear oral arguments at the Florida Supreme Court.
Judge Miller, who earned her B.S. cum laude from New York University in 1974 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1977, served as Chief Administrative Law Judge of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, New York City’s business regulatory agency, before she retired to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida. Having accompanied Justice Overton on his excursions to Tallahassee and joined him in welcoming guests to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, she created the endowment in memory of Justice Overton to ensure that the Levin College of Law continues to have the funding necessary to continue and enhance the interaction between its students and the Florida Supreme Court.

Judge Miller remembered the event that motivated the endowment.

Prior to a dinner at the home of Dean Robert Jerry and Lisa Jerry shortly after Justice Overton’s death, Justice Barbara Pariente and I were discussing a suitable memorial. Justice Pariente, who had been Justice Overton’s colleague on the Florida Supreme Court and who understood the importance to him of the interaction between his students and the Court, suggested the outline of what has become the Overton lectures. Dean Jerry, who has since retired, as has Dean Emeritus Jon Mills, who assumed responsibility for implementing the Overton lectures, were very supportive from the beginning. Since Dean Mills’ retirement, Professor Timothy McClendon, who assisted both Justice Overton and Dean Mills teaching Florida Constitutional Law and who co-authored the recent Florida Constitutional Law casebook, has continued the Overton lectures with the support of Interim Dean Merritt McAlister and CGR director, Professor Danaya Wright.

Justice Overton was a devoted jurist, educator, and ethical leader of the Florida legal profession. The Overton Lecture Series brings Florida Supreme Court Justices to the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and serves to introduce students to the inner workings of the Court. CGR and the students of the College of Law extend our deepest gratitude to Judge Karen Miller for making the Overton Lectures possible in perpetuity.

You can watch an interview for the Florida Historical Society by Mary Adkins, professor emeritus of the UF Levin College of Law, with Justice Overton here.

Justice Overton was also interviewed for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project and a transcript of his interview is available at the Smathers Library, and here.
Justice Overton sat on the Constitution Revision Commission of 1977-78 that proposed a right to privacy in the Florida Constitution. Although it failed as part of the Constitution Revision Commission recommendations, it passed in 1980 when proposed by the legislature. The bill was co-sponsored by our very own Jon Mills. The privacy provision prevailed by greater than 60%. Justice Overton then wrote a concurrence in a critical reproductive rights case in 1989 affirming that the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution included the right to obtain an abortion. That decision was overruled in Planned Parenthood of SW and Central Florida v. Florida. You can read about the role of Justice Overton, Jon Mills – director emeritus of CGR, and the history of the 1989 case here.

Clinics and Field Placements