We prepare future lawyers through hands-on real-world practice. Students develop practical skills and apply classroom learning in supervised clinical and externship settings.
The Clinical Law Center
Where justice meets practice for the next generation of civil rights lawyers.
For generations, Howard Law has stood at the forefront of civil rights advocacy and social justice. At the Clinical Law Center, students represent real clients, work on real cases, and help shape the future of justice in America.
Serving individuals, families, and organizations in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Programs and Services
Potential Clients
We provide legal support to individuals, families, and communities who need access to justice. Our clinics offer representation, guidance, and advocacy in select practice areas, delivered by Howard Law students under faculty supervision.
About the Clinical Law Center
Howard University School of Law has produced more African American attorneys than any other law school in the nation. Our Clinical Law Center honors this tradition by providing students with the opportunity to carry forward the work of civil rights pioneers—from Thurgood Marshall to Pauli Murray—through hands-on legal experience that changes lives and transforms communities.
Our Legacy: Building on a Foundation of Excellence
Our clinics have served as training grounds for lawyers committed to justice. Our students don't just study the law—they make it, writing briefs for U.S. Supreme Court cases, testifying before legislative bodies, and representing clients whose voices might otherwise go unheard.
Our students follow in the footsteps of giants, and they're already making history of their own.
Real Clients. Real Cases. Real Impact.
Through externship programs, students represent real people facing real challenges, from families fighting eviction to entrepreneurs protecting their intellectual property, from individuals seeking criminal justice reform to communities demanding accountability from those in power.
By the Numbers
| 150+ clinic students enrolled across ten clinical programs | ||||
| 250+ clients served annually, including individuals, families, and organizations | ||||
| 100+ students placed in public interest, government, and judicial settings | ||||
| Countless lives changed through legal representation and advocacy |
CLINICS & EXTERNSHIPS
The Future of Justice Begins Here
At Howard Law's Clinical Law Center, we don't just teach students about justice - we empower them to achieve it. Every brief filed, every client served, every community empowered brings us closer to the world we seek: one where everyone has access to excellent legal representation and where the law is a tool for liberation, not oppression.
This is more than legal education. This is the training ground for leaders who will shape justice for generations to come.
A summary of all Clinical Law Center programs can be found here.
Clinics
Externships
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a clinic and an externship?
Law school clinics and externships are both experiential learning opportunities in which students can earn academic credit, but they differ in several important ways:
Law school clinics are in-house programs. Students work under the supervision of a Howard professor or supervising attorney to represent real clients. Students take the lead in all of the legal work, which may include interviewing clients, drafting documents, and appearing in court under student practice rules, all while getting intensive supervision and feedback from the professor.
In Externships (sometimes called field placements) students work at an outside organization such as, a government agency, nonprofit, or judge's chambers. You work under the supervision of attorneys at that organization and attend the relevant externship course. The experience is more like a traditional internship where you're learning by observing and assisting practicing attorneys in the actual workplace.
The key distinction is really about where the work happens and who supervises the student. Clinics are faculty-supervised, school-based client representation, while externships are attorney-supervised placements in real legal workplaces. Both give practical skills. Clinics tend to offer more intensive teaching and feedback, while externships give broader exposure to how different legal settings operate.
How do I apply for a clinic?
Students must apply in the Spring for the upcoming academic year (Fall, Spring, or yearlong programs). For more information on the application and enrollment process, see here.
How do I find and apply for an externship?
Most students find their own placements before applying to an externship program, though some programs match you directly. For more information on externship placements and courses, see here.
How many hours will I need to commit to clinic or externship?
Credits and more information about each individual program can be found in our Clinical Law Center Program Summary Chart.
For Potential Clients
To contact the Intake Office, please call 202-806-8082 or email at ClinicalLawCenter@howard.edu.
Our Intake office takes a limited number of matters and cases.
What we handle:
Fair Housing Clinic
We help low income tenants in D.C. with housing-related legal issues including eviction defense, housing discrimination, housing conditions, and other landlord-tenant disputes. Our clinic can only help tenants who reside in Washington D.C.
Estate Planning and Heirs' Property Clinic
We assist D.C. and Maryland residents with estate planning, including wills, living wills (advanced healthcare directives), financial powers of attorney, beneficiary designations for retirement benefits and life insurance, and real estate transfer-on-death deeds. We also work on select matters related to heirs’ property.
Investor Justice and Education Clinic
We pursue claims against some of the largest financial services companies in the nation, as well as their securities brokers and investment advisers. Cases may involve financial products and transactions such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and stock options.
Intellectual Property Trademark and Patent Clinics
Our IP Trademark and IP Patent Clinics each manage a waitlist for potential clients seeking help with a trademark or patent. You may be added to the waitlist by contacting the Intake Center.
If you have a legal issue that meets one of these descriptions, call the Intake Center at (202) 806-8082 or email us at ClinicalLawCenter@howard.edu.
What we don't handle:
We do not take felony criminal cases, divorce matters, landlord representation, or other matters outside the scope of our clinics. The remainder of our clinics receive their matters from courts or other sources and, unfortunately, do not take matters from our intake center.
Unfortunately, we are unable to help with walk-in inquiries. If you would like to discuss your case, please contact the Clinical Law Center via phone or email.
Contact Us
The Clinical Law Center is located in Room G18, Notre Dame Hall.
Phone: (202) 806-8082
Email: ClinicalLawCenter@howard.edu