Clinic students participate in preparing and presenting cases involving children and teenagers, such as education rights, delinquency, custody, and access to social services. Students can develop skills – including interviewing, investigating, negotiating, and litigating – that apply to many adversarial situations in addition to children’s law.
Students must have completed 28 credit hours and have completed, or be concurrently enrolled in, the Professional Responsibility course. However, upper-level students who have had courses in trial advocacy and either juvenile law or family law receive priority for clinic positions.
The clinic is a three or four-credit-hour course that includes class time and clinic work. Students must attend a “boot camp” to prepare for clinic work, be available for some business hours each week, and complete 50 hours of clinic work for each credit hour enrolled.
Professor Jennifer Brinkman is the clinic director.
Submit a Children's Law Center Clinic Application
Participation in the clinic does not require a limited license to practice law, but one is required to appear in court with supervision of a lawyer. Students wishing to apply for a limited law license need to sign page 1 and bring it to Robin Higgins at higginsr3@nku.edu in NH 314. She will obtain all of the rest of the signatures while you complete the rest of the Kentucky Limited License Application. Contact Robin Higgins with questions.
“Students in the Children's Law Center Clinic learn to be competent, zealous advocates and creative problem solvers. They work with professionals across disciplines, including social workers, physicians, educators and other service providers to ensure the best outcomes for their clients.”
– Professor Amy Halbrook, clinic founder and director emerita.
