As a top three program and pioneer in clinical education, CUNY Law leads legal education in experiential, immersive learning focused on building professional experience, hard skills, and serving real human needs.
Every student experiences our clinical program, which is considered the capstone of the public interest lawyering education built on our unique and immersive approach to training. Our faculty are leading experts, advocates, organizers, and trailblazers in the social justice lawyering field; our community partners and clients help us create transformative justice. Get to know our clinical offerings and the impact they generate.
Clinical Offerings
Clinical education is an integral part of CUNY Law’s academic core.
This overview of our clinical education offerings is meant to help students plan and navigate their clinic experience. Toggle between the offerings to see high-level overviews of clinic logistics; for more information, see each clinic’s program pages.
Community & Economic Development Clinic
The Community & Economic Development Clinic (CEDC) equips students with practical legal skills through work with worker cooperatives, tenant unions, and grassroots organizations. Focusing on Economic Democracy and Anti-Displacement, interns provide legal counsel on wealth redistribution, workplace democracy, and tenant protections. Through direct representation and advocacy, students gain essential lawyering skills while contributing to a more just and equitable New York City.
The CLEAR Clinic provides free legal representation, know-your-rights workshops, and organizing support to Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and other communities affected by national security and counterterrorism policies. CLEAR collaborates with grassroots organizations to challenge discriminatory practices. As the only program of its kind in New York City, CLEAR helps communities navigate interactions with law enforcement and assert their rights.
Law 861 – Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility Clinic
The Defenders Clinic prepares students to challenge systemic injustices in the criminal legal system. Through hands-on work in parole hearings, clemency cases, and criminal defense, students advocate for incarcerated individuals seeking second chances. Through partnerships with legal aid organizations and public defenders, the clinic provides support to incarcerated individuals seeking justice and fair treatment under the law. The clinic’s Second Look Project has helped secure freedom for dozens, reinforcing its commitment to dismantling mass incarceration and supporting redemption.
Disability Rights and Social Justice Clinic
The Disability Rights and Social Justice Clinic (DRSJC) advocates for the civil rights, autonomy, and dignity of people with disabilities through legal representation, policy work, and community education. Students engage in cases related to discrimination, benefits, guardianship, and estate planning, while also working on policy initiatives to address broader social justice issues affecting disabled communities. The clinic’s mission is to support communities in navigating and challenging exclusionary systems that threaten their rights and autonomy.
LAW 8152 – Disability Rights and Social Justice Clinic (DRSJC)
The Economic Justice Project (EJP) is a third-year lawyering seminar focused on economic justice advocacy through litigation, policy work, and community education. Since its founding, EJP has supported over 1,500 CUNY students in retaining public benefits while pursuing higher education. Students provide legal representation in public benefits cases, assist grassroots organizations, and participate in policy initiatives that expand educational and economic opportunities. EJP combines direct legal services with broader policy initiatives to advance economic justice in New York City.
Equality and Justice Practice Clinic
The Equality and Justice Practice Clinic (EJPC) offers students practical experience in civil rights litigation and advocacy. Working with civil rights lawyers, students engage in cases involving police misconduct, workplace discrimination, educational equity, and incarcerated individuals’ rights. Through field placements with legal organizations, simulated lawyering exercises, and legal research, students develop litigation skills while examining how the law promotes or limits equality. The clinic provides a foundation in civil rights law while preparing students for impactful careers in social justice.
This clinical course will introduce students to the multiple ways that the law can be used to assist women who have been victims of assaults, batteries and other forms of domestic violence. In the BWR concentration students will work in a legal organization that does domestic violence advocacy, prosecution or criminal defense that is different from the direct services work that the BWR clinic does through Main Street Legal Services. These placements will involve criminal and civil work, such as domestic violence prosecution with the Brooklyn Family Justice Center, and legislative advocacy or impact litigation with an organization like Sanctuary for Families or The Legal Aid Society. Classroom instruction will include joint classes with the BWR clinic and BWR concentration students. In these classes, students will explore theoretical issues such as the efficacy of various legal responses to domestic violence; the inter-sectionality of domestic violence and race, class and sexuality; and the value and challenges of interdisciplinary work between lawyers and social workers. In the split classes, the BWR clinic students could delve more deeply into the specific law (Family Court Act, Domestic Relations Law, and immigration law) that is relevant to their cases. The BWR concentration students will learn the law relevant to the work they are doing. All students will learn lawyering skills such as interviewing and counseling. All students will also participate in case rounds.Students will be selected for the clinic based on screening criteria developed by the Law Clinic faculty. Enrollment will be limited and will vary from year to year depending on the Clinic budget and other restraints.
Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic
The Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic (INRC) prepares students to advocate for non-citizens facing detention, deportation, and discriminatory policies. Students represent asylum seekers, challenge gang allegations, and advocate for DACA recipients while engaging in community-based legal education to support immigrant communities facing systemic discrimination. The clinic also produces legal resources and Know-Your-Rights materials to support non-citizens navigating complex legal systems. By addressing systemic barriers and collaborating with grassroots organizations, the clinic fights for fair and humane immigration policies.
Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic
The Human Rights and Gender Justice (HRGJ) Clinic engages students in international human rights law through advocacy, litigation, and policy work to combat gender-based violence, defend reproductive rights, and promote social and economic justice. Students research and draft human rights reports, support law reform efforts, contribute to policy change through litigation, and advocate before global and domestic legal bodies to protect the rights of marginalized communities.
The Mediation Clinic provides historically marginalized communities with a structured forum to resolve disputes in business, employment, housing, family, and other areas. Students gain hands-on experience and develop skills in mediation theory, legal analysis, and collaborative problem-solving while handling real cases in courts and community settings. They learn to assess when mediation is appropriate, apply negotiation techniques, and guide parties toward mutually satisfactory outcomes, gaining valuable lawyering skills applicable across legal practice areas.
Contact Us

OFFICE HOURS
Time: Monday – Friday, 10:00AM – 8:30PM
Office: 5th Floor
Phone: (718) 340-1212
Email: clinicdean@law.cuny.edu