What do students do in this clinic?
The Economic Inclusion Clinic focuses transactional legal work that positively impacts historically disenfranchised communities, including people of color, agricultural workers and rural small businesses. Examples of the type of legal work the clinic conducts include the following:
- reviewing and drafting incorporation documents such as articles, bylaws, conflict of interest policies, employment law policies and other in-house corporate documents
- counseling, reviewing and drafting contracts, memoranda of understanding, commercial leases and other financial transaction documents
- counseling and reviewing relevant documents related to financing, compliance, and other economic development-related transactions
- Legal workshops for community-based organizations and their beneficiaries
Many of our clients are social enterprises (either nonprofits or for-profits) focused on a double-bottom line of 1) inclusion of historically disenfranchised communities and 2) financial viability.
The clinic will also work in tandem with public offices such as the MN attorney general under a co-counsel agreement in which the students will conduct research on policies promoting economic inclusion.
FAQ
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What happens in the classroom component?
Preparation for and execution of client interviews, co-counsel interviews, review and discussion of assigned reading, review of black letter law as applied to client cases, and case rounds.
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What do students learn in this clinic?
Students gain an insight into the real-life application of issue-spotting, compliance, and liability analysis common in for-profit and nonprofit organizations involved in community economic development in historically disenfranchised communities. Students will also learn the art of collaboration with colleagues, third party co-counsel, and community-based organizations. -
When is this clinic offered?
Fall and Spring
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How many credits?
Three -
Are students permitted or encouraged to take this clinic for additional semesters?
Yes, but priority will be given to those who have not been able to have previous clinical opportunities.
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Are there any required or recommended pre-requisites?
Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite. Business Organizations is recommended.
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About how many hours of work per week is required in this clinic?
This is a three-credit clinic. This means that the course will comprise of 127.5 hours (3 x 42.5). After accounting for client intake and closing meetings, the weekly supervision, the weekly case rounds, and the three days of orientation, students should be prepared to commit between 10-12 hours per week on average working on clinical matters. Some weeks students will not work more than 1-2 hours a week, and other weeks you may be working more than 12 hours. It mostly depends on the student’s ability to successfully progress with the client projects.
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Can students with full-time jobs take this clinic?
This course is specifically designed to enable part-time or out-of-state students the opportunity to gain client and co-counseling experience without being physically on-campus.
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Can students who live outside the Twin Cities take this clinic?
Yes. All meetings and student supervisions can be attended via zoom.
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As a blended clinic, how does it work logistically?
The course includes weekly readings and videos for approximately the first three weeks of the semester. There is also a synchronous component of the course.
The synchronous portion of the course consists of:
- A one-time, 3-day synchronous orientation during the week prior to the semester (21 hours).
- Two weekly, hour-long synchronous supervision sessions (flexible scheduling in accordance with student & professor schedules). This is a meeting between the professor and 2-3 students who have signed up per client.
- 2-3x 1 hour client meetings at the outset of the semester and the close of the semester (flexible scheduling in accordance with client and student schedules).
BAM and Blended students must attend the orientation in person. All students are permitted to attend all other synchronous sessions, including client meetings, via zoom.
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Who should take this clinic?
Students interested in working with businesses and nonprofits, and those interested in social enterprises will benefit from experience in the Economic Inclusion Clinic.
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How do I apply?
To apply to the clinic, please fill out the application and schedule a time to meet with Professor Vu-Dinh for an intake interview.
Applications should be submitted at least one semester before the semester you intend to take the clinic—the earlier, the better, as slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you have any questions beforehand, contact Professor Vu-Dinh at kim.vudinh@mitchellhamline.edu.
Faculty
