{ prima facie } the Temple Law newspaper

Temple Law offers a wide variety of clinical courses that enables students to serve real clients and gain real practice skills. Below, students share insights about their experiences in a few of the clinical courses.

Business Law Clinical
By Kristin Townley (3L)

Simply put, this clinical offers a wide range of business services to people who may not otherwise be able to get assistance.

Clients come to the Small Business Development Office usually for assistance in starting-up a business, expanding a current business, or seeking advice on managing their current business. From there, they are referred to the legal clinic as issues arise.

Our job starts with a client intake session. After this, we develop a scope of the services we will provide for our clients. The services include business formation issues such as choosing a business entity, contract drafting, obtaining trademarks and patents, etc.

Although the clinical is time-consuming, it has several great benefits. First, you get real experience. We meet with clients who genuinely need our help to improve their business. Further, you face real issues that you will encounter in practice.

Second, this clinical really helps to improve your communication skills. As an intern, you are constantly communicating with your clients: in person, on the phone, or through email.

Finally, a huge bonus is that you get to help people who really need your assistance. It feels great to complete a project for a client who is grateful for your help and really needs it to start or improve their business.

Domestic Relations Mediation
By Antonio Capistrano (3L)

I was in the Domestic Relations Mediation Clinical last fall, which is run out of Philadelphia Family Court via the Temple Legal Aid Office. We were trained as Student Mediators to work specifically in the Custody Master’s Unit.

Couples going through divorce proceedings were directed to mediation before their actual court hearings to gauge the possibility of their coming to a mutual child custody agreement. Our duties were specifically aimed at custody, so our mediated agreements were more or less centered on visitation schedules and partial/physical custody issues.

For me, learning the intricacies of practical mediation was a welcome departure from the standard, substantive areas otherwise covered in daily legal education. While the traditional role of a lawyer is as an advocate, a mediator must always maintain neutrality. Any agreement made is voluntarily reached by the parties involved, with the mediator
acting as a nonpartisan facilitator.

Domestic Relations Mediation is one of the few clinical programs focusing on mediation, which is itself a growing field. It is a valuable opportunity to familiarize yourself with a skill and area that you might otherwise not encounter in your legal education.