Caribbean Law Clinic

In the Caribbean Law Clinic, students study the legal systems and processes of the Commonwealth Caribbean and assess legal problems confronting individual Caribbean countries. Each semester an Attorney General from one of the participating countries or U.S. states (Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Florida or Texas) refers current legal problems to the Clinic and students at the participating law schools, under faculty supervision, research and write reports and memoranda. The research typically involves comparing how international law or the law of a particular country addresses the question and offering a variety of possible solutions.

Students have the opportunity to develop skills including problem solving, legal research and analysis, factual assessment, legal writing and formal oral presentation. These oral presentations are made when students travel to the country or state from which the legal problem originates to present completed work to the staff of the attorney general. Before the formal presentation, students from participating law schools have the opportunity to share and discuss their findings and recommendations and plan the presentation. During that trip, the cost of which is covered by FCSL, time is also spent visiting various legal institutions and meeting with governmental officials.

Students spend, at a minimum, 10 hours per week on the work of the Clinic. Part of this time includes a mandatory classroom component which meets one hour each week. The course is graded and a final exam is administered at the end of the semester.

Interested students must complete the FCSL Clinic Application Form and must have completed a minimum of 48 credit hours. Selection is based on GPA, overseas study and work experience, courses taken in international or comparative law and involvement in organizations that demonstrate an interest in such.

For additional information, contact Professor John Knechtle, the Director of the Caribbean Law Clinic.