Hickton Center for Community Legal Services & Clinical Legal Education

Law school and reality meet head-on in Pitt Law’s in-house legal clinics. Under the supervision of full-time faculty who are practicing attorneys, you will wrestle with legal and ethical issues involving real people. Students can enroll in a legal clinic in the second semester of their second year of law school.

Sikov Elder Law Clinic

In the Sikov Elder Law Clinic, students represent low-income older adults and their family members in selected areas of Elder Law, including simple estate planning, guardianship, and medical assistance planning for long-term care.

Environmental Law and Policy Clinic 

The Environmental Law and Policy Clinic is a place-based, community resource that aims to foster local climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and projects, ensure a safe and clean environment for all, and facilitate green and equitable economic opportunities. 

Family Empowerment and Legal Access Clinic 

The Family Empowerment and Legal Access Clinic helps students develop the skills necessary for a professionally effective and satisfying client representation practice. Over two semesters, assume full responsibility for clients while advocating for access to a legal system built for all but not responsive to their unique needs. 

Immigration Law Clinic 

The Immigration Law Clinic represents noncitizens in a wide range of matters, including asylum, the Violence Against Women Act, U visas, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, citizenship, family-based petitions, and those facing removal from the United States. The Clinic provides practical experience in immigration law, client representation, and effective legal advocacy. 

Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic

The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic allows students to gain practical lawyering skills by representing low-income taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and the United States Tax Court.

Securities Arbitration Clinic

The Securities Arbitration Clinic represents small investors in disputes with broker-dealers through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) mandatory arbitration proceedings and the mediation alternative offered through FINRA.