Student Attorneys

 

The Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic of the Washington College of Law prepares students to be effective and thoughtful practitioners through direct experience in this rapidly evolving area. Our students learn a range of essential lawyering skills and acquire a critical understanding of the values and value conflicts that shape the development of intellectual property law and policy. Through its activities, the Clinic strives to promote the public interest in copyright, patent, trademark and related fields.

The Clinic employs the methodology of WCL’s nationally acclaimed Clinical Program. Our students take primary responsibility for every stage of the cases and other matters to which they are assigned, under the close supervision of an experienced team of full-time faculty members. In addition, clinic seminars give students the opportunity to hone basic skills and theoretical understanding in a classroom setting, and provide the opportunity for reflection on the experience of client representation and the meaning of the public interest in the realm of intellectual property.

Cases and matters assigned to students in the Clinic involve issues drawn from the full range of intellectual property specialties (copyright, patent, trademark, and beyond). Over the course of a year in the Clinic, students will be exposed to experiences in client counseling, transactional lawyering and litigation, as well as administrative and legislative advocacy.

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Clinic alumni reflect on their experience . . .

“The law school experience can be intimidating, competitive—emphasizing the regurgitation of legal rules rather than the nurturing of intellectual curiosity. The Clinic changed everything . . .”

“Before I start any engagement I have to ask myself — What is our story? Who is the audience? What are the facts? What are the most important points? This process is almost effortless because of the training I received from the WCL IP Clinic.”

“I came into clinic frightened at the prospect of being responsible for representing ‘real clients’ in ‘real matters’ with ‘real implications.’  Up until this point, I have been the student, the intern, the clerk, but in clinic I was the lawyer.”

“No other course was more valuable to my evolution from student to attorney because of the perspective and hands on experience [the Clinic] provided.”

“As I come to the end of my journey in clinic, I am leaving with many new skills, new perspectives on intellectual property and public interest, and invaluable bonds with my supervisors and Clinic mates.”