Community Development Clinic

About

The Community Development Clinic is a transactional law clinic with two main goals:

• Providing UMass Law students with real-world practice and rich learning experiences to develop the skills and ethics essential to practicing law ethically and competently

• Providing clients with the utmost professional service to achieve the goals of their business or organization

Second and third year UMass Law students, supervised by a licensed attorney and professor of the law school, will be working on your case. These students are enthusiastic about working with you to help you achieve the goals of your business or organization.

Students in the clinic research legal issues, draft and amend documents, create businesses and nonprofit organizations. They assist organizations in ensuring compliance with state and local laws, and provide guidance on other legal issues as presented by the case.

They may also prepare materials and make presentations to groups of directors and employees on a variety of topics, such as the fiduciary duties of board members, new legislation, or changes to existing law.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for pro bono legal service from the Community Development Clinic if you:

• Own or are thinking of forming a small business, are an entrepreneur, or are a member of a nonprofit organization

• Cannot otherwise afford legal representation

Apply

Please complete the application (PDF) and submit it and the required attachments at your earliest convenience.

You may submit your completed application by:

• Email: [email protected]

• Fax: 508.985.1136

• Mail: Community Development Clinic, University of Massachusetts School of Law, 333 Faunce Corner Road,North Dartmouth, MA 02747

We will review your application and follow-up about whether or not we’ll be able to further pursue your application.

Note: We cannot guarantee that we’ll be able to accept your case. We routinely receive more requests than we’re able to accommodate. We consider a combination of factors when selecting a case, including resources and capacity, as well as the learning opportunity for students.