Since 1997, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Legislative Clinic has provided students the opportunity to gain real experience in legislative lawyering and the formation of public policy, combining fieldwork with a weekly seminar.
Legislative placements can include roles in Congress, state legislatures or local city councils, executive branch agencies engaged in legislative or policy work, or nonprofit advocacy organizations pursuing a legislative agenda.
“I created the Legislative Clinic 28 years ago to offer students a clinical experience in legislation and public policy by immersing them in legislative process, legislative drafting, and legislative advocacy, and providing opportunities for students to be at the center of wherever public policy is made,” says Louis S. Rulli, Morris M. Shuster Practice Professor of Law and director of the Law School’s Civil Practice Clinic and Legislative Clinic.
The classroom component examines legislative process, drafting, and advocacy, and gives students the chance to interact with clinic alumni in legislative positions while learning federal and state legislative drafting techniques to apply to their chosen placements.
The variety of placements in the Clinic enables students to learn from each other’s experiences.
“Legislative and public policy placements are more diverse than ever,” Rulli says. “Students choose to pursue their interests in Congress, the White House, the Department of Justice and other high-level executive agencies, state and local legislatures, and major nonprofit organizations pursuing legislative change.”
Read more at Penn Carey Law.
