Skip to main content
LSU Law Logo

Practical Experience

Opportunities abound for LSU law students to put to work in a practical setting the material they’ve learned in the classroom. About 20 different courses, clinics, practicums, and field placements are available.

  • The Law Center offers opportunities for students to engage in real-life experiences through its Clinical Legal Education Program and numerous field placements. At the same time, students—and supervising faculty members—have an opportunity to provide service to our community and the legal system.

    Current clinic offerings include: Civil Mediation; Family Law; Family Mediation; Immigration Law; and Juvenile Defense.

    Students may also elect to participate in a number of field placements, including a Judicial Field placement, where they serve as law clerk externs in the chambers of judges in the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, the Louisiana Supreme Court, or the Louisiana Court of Appeals; Individual Supervised Field placements where students research and perform transactional work in a specifically approved placement under the direction of a field supervisor attorney and a full-time member of the law faculty; a Louisiana Department of Revenue, Office of Legal Affairs field placement; an Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel (New Orleans) field placement; and a LA Attorney General Field placement.

  • The legal research and writing program teaches students to research legal issues in printed and computer-based sources and gives them rigorous experience in legal writing. In the first semester, all students learn basic research skills and then prepare objective memoranda on two legal issues. In the spring, the focus is computer-assisted research and persuasive writing, with each student preparing an appellate brief and participating in an oral argument on the issues in the brief.

  • Some 75 of the nation’s best trial advocates conduct an annual special seminar for 200 third-year students. In three days of intensive “learning by doing,” participants act as trial counsel and refine their trial skills under the experienced eyes of the select seminar faculty.

  • In 2008-09, the Law Center sponsored 22 moot court, trial advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution teams that provided 85 students the opportunity to develop their legal skills beyond traditional classroom instruction. Over the last four academic years, LSU Law students have won First Place 23 times in national competitions in team, individual, and brief writing categories.

  • In 2008-09, Law Center teams won First Place at the National Pretrial Advocacy and the National Tax Moot Court Competitions. A student from LSU Law also won the award for Best Individual Advocate at both of those competitions.

  • All students are encouraged to participate in moot court and mock trial competitions against fellow LSU Law students throughout the academic year.

  • In 2008-09, over 200 law students competed in these events which include the Opening Statement Competition, the Ira S. Flory Mock Trial, and the Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition. Additionally, selected students represent the Law Center at interschool competitions worldwide including events in Puerto Rico and Austria. In 2008, the Law Center sent a group of five students to Vienna, Austria to compete in the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot. In only its second year at the competition, the Law Center team advanced into the Final Elimination Rounds. In addition, for the second year in a row, one of the LSU Law students received Honorable Mention in the Individual Best Advocate category. This award is reserved for the top five percent of all competitors.

  • Field placements and pro bono programs give students the chance to earn course credit while developing skills and confidence and helping the community.