Help Legal Services Clinic I

Prerequisite: 2.30 GPA. The Clinic offers students the opportunity to develop basic lawyering skills, such as client interviewing, counseling and representation; negotiation; research and drafting; and case management. HeLP offices based at Children's handle cases involving guardianship, Medicaid, housing, SSI, family law, education and employment issues. Students will interact directly with clients under the supervision of the Clinic's Associate Directors. The HeLP Clinic is an interdisciplinary learning experience. Students will also work collaboratively with Residents and Medical Students from Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory University School of Medicine. HeLP Clinic students are also required to perform client intake in the Emergency Department of Childrens at Hughes Spalding as part of a clinic program called, ED Mondays, and to attend patient rounds with residents at Childrens at Hughes Spalding. Weekly class sessions cover substantive and procedural law, as well as Clinic administrative procedures and lawyering skills. These sessions will also include more formal discussions of specific case issues. Additionally, students meet weekly with their assigned Supervisor to discuss and evaluate their assigned cases. Students are also required to be in the Clinic a minimum of seven hours per week exclusive of class time. In order to work inside the hospital, students must be tested and confirm vaccinations for certain diseases. (For the clinic policy, go to http://law.gsu.edu/resources/students/HELP_InternAgreement.doc) Work in the Clinic will likely require travel to Children's at Scottish Rite, Children's at Egleston, and Children's at Hughes Spalding. Students enrolled in the Clinic must attend a mandatory day-long Orientation session. Students will be notified of the date of the session upon registration.