Federal Litigation

High stakes and complex legal matters make up the day-to-day work of the Federal Litigation Clinic.

Many of the clients in this Clinic are charged with federal crimes and often face harsh penalties, while the civil rights cases involve different, but equally high stakes.

To represent our clients, you will hone your interviewing skills under a variety of challenging circumstances. You will engage in multifaceted legal and factual research, develop sophisticated case theories and engage in cycles of complex counseling and negotiation. Our civil docket presents opportunities to take and defend depositions and appear in federal court on the record. Our criminal docket will give you direct experience with all phases of contemporary criminal practice.

Many of our cases present no easy or obvious answer, and our practice compels us to emphasize creativity and rigor as we seek thoughtful solutions to difficult problems.

The supervising attorneys of this Clinic, Associate Dean Michael W. Martin '92 and Professor Ian Weinstein have litigated hundreds of federal, criminal, civil rights, police misconduct, and other related cases in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Federal Litigation Clinic has a rich history. Since 1989, Federal Litigation students have represented clients at trial, on appeal and on collateral review, winning significant victories, mitigating charges and sentences, and lawyering with care and concern for every client, their families and communities.

Working in the Fed Lit Clinic gave me the confidence I needed to be a successful litigator. Before starting my job, I already had experience deposing witnesses, writing discovery motions, counseling clients and preparing for trial, which gave me a significant advantage over my peers. The most important thing I learned from my professors was to 'own my case,' a lesson I still carry with me in every case.

Kristen McIntosh
New York City Law Department
Federal Litigation Clinic 2012