Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic
Representing low-income workers in a variety of legal matters.
Students in the Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic (FLAC) work in teams of two to represent people who are living and working in agricultural and agriculture-related settings throughout Pennsylvania. Students represent farmworkers in a variety of legal matters to help their clients meet their basic needs. Current case priorities include workers' compensation claims for people who need long-term care for work-based injuries, wage claims, and immigration. Fora include Workers' Compensation Court, Courts of Common Pleas, District Justice Courts, and U.S. Department of Justice Immigration Courts. When a client has additional legal needs, clinic student teams work with the supervisors and law school administration to determine whether they can take on these new aspects of their clients' cases. As a result, the clinic is currently handling cases in the area of family law.
Because farmworkers are extremely isolated, education and trust building are key components of lawyering for this community. Therefore, in the Fall semester, each student team will spend at least one half-day traveling to a farm labor camp during the Adams County apple-picking season to participate in a know-your-rights outreach presentation.
Most student teams will work with Spanish-speaking clients through interpreters and manage non-traditional offsite client consultation settings.
Videos:
To watch Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic videos - Click here.
Faculty:
Professor Beth Lyon
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Caitlin Barry
Credit Hours:
Six.
Farmworker Clinic satisfies practical writing requirement.
Prerequisites:
Second year students cannot take this class in the Fall semester.
Time Commitment:
24-28 Hours per week
Semesters Offered:
Fall and Spring
Application Process:
Lottery, with preference will be given to third year students who have not taken a clinical course. Priority will be given to two (2) rising second year students in the Spring semester only.
Laptops:
Given the small size of the class, the fact that much of the class time is devoted to discussion, and that active participation in class is encouraged, use of laptop computers is generally prohibited during class time.
Extra Classes:
During the Orientation Period (usually the first 3 or 4 weeks of the semester), there will be extra classes each week. Because of these extra classes in the beginning of the semester, the FLAC Clinic will end the semester earlier than other classes.
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