Advancing Your Career
Experiential education provides opportunities for students to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to practice well as a social justice lawyer. There are several opportunities available to University of New Hampshire School of Law students that provide hands-on legal experiences.
Legal Residencies
The University of New Hampshire School of Law has a highly regarded Legal Residency program that places students in quality social justice positions around the country and gives them the opportunity to apply substantive law from class to real cases and real clients. Some recent UNH Law residencies have placed students in state and federal courts; the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office; New Hampshire's Disability Rights Center; the Public Interest Research Group; the NH Civil Liberties Union; the NH Human Rights Commission; the National Network to End Domestic Violence; and the ABA Juvenile Justice Center.
Clinics
UNH Law's clinics bring the law to life by allowing students to apply their knowledge to real cases, and expose students to the expectations, culture, and ethics of a law practice. Current clinical offerings include: Consumer and Commercial Law, Criminal Practice, Immigration Law, Intellectual Property and Transaction, Mediation, International Technology Transfer Institute Clinic (ITTI Clinic), IP Amicus Clinic, and Streetlaw.
Fellowships
Public Interest Coalition Fellowships (PIC)
UNH Law is committed to providing students with concrete social justice experiences. Recognizing that many deserving organizations in need of legal assistance are often unable to pay a salary for summer legal interns, UNH School of Law provides Public Interest Coalition (PIC) fellowships to law students to enable them to accept unpaid or low-paying summer employment.
"Every day, I walk into the office and I am handed a different project that further enhances my desire to become a public defender. To me, this is not just about helping my clients shape their future, it is about shaping my future as well."
| 2012 Summer Fellows |
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Jessica Allsop - New Hampshire's Dept. of Human and Health Services, Concord NH |
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Stephen Baker - Cindy Lonergan Elder Law and Patients' Rights Fellow, NH Legal Assistance, Concord, NH |
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Joshua Brown - County of Allegheny Law Office of the Public Defender, Pittsburgh, PA |
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Rayna Burke - New Hampshire's Dept. of Human and Health Services, Concord NH |
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Matthew Burrows - Merrimack Superior Court, Concord, NH |
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Jessica Canter - Catholic Charities of Central Texas, Austin, TX |
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Kerstin Cornell - NH Civil Liberties Union, Concord, NH |
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Fiona Davidson - Pueblo of Isleta, Office of General Counsel, Iselta, NM |
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Esther Dickinson - NH Legal Assistance, Concord, NH |
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Alec Graham - NH Bar Foundation Fellow, NH Catholic Charities, Nashua, NH |
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Courtney Gray - NH Division of Children, Youth and Families, Concord, NH |
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Judson Hescock - Chittenden County State's Attorney, Burlington, VT |
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Kathrine Lacey - Laconia City Prosecutor, Laconia, NH |
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Clinton Leite - Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC |
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Callan Maynard - Phillips-Green Defender Fellow, NH Public Defender, Nashua, NH |
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Ryan McKenna - NH Circuit Court, Concord, NH |
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Lucy Sammis - Simoneau Family Fellow, Disability Rights Center, Concord, NH |
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Laurie Smith - National Education Association, Concord, NH |
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Sarah Wait - NH Public Defender, Concord, NH |
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Scott Whitaker - NH Public Defender, Laconia, NH |
U.S. Schweitzer Fellows Programs
The U.S. Schweitzer Fellows Programs® provide community service fellowships for graduate students, including law students who seek to help those currently underserved by our health care system. The service project is one of the core elements of the Fellows Program. Each fellow designs a service project that provides at least 200 hours of service through an existing community agency and under the supervision of an academic and community based mentor. The program also provides great professional networking opportunities through Fellows for Life conferences and connections. Since 2004, at least one UNH School of Law student has received a fellowship each year.
It is a one-year interdisciplinary program focused on community service, leadership development and reflection. The project should aim to provide direct service to an under-served population in New Hampshire, eliminate health disparities, and improve quality of life. For ideas, you may use the nation's public health agenda, Healthy People 2020.
Application guidelines and instructions are available. They accept both individual and two-person team projects.