OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi School of Law plans to open its ninth clinic, the MacArthur Justice Clinic, which will undertake impact litigation on human rights and criminal justice issues in the state, this summer.
The law school is also seeking a tenure-track clinical faculty member to lead and teach in the clinic.
“We are excited about increasing fairness and justice in the legal system,” said Donna Davis, associate professor of law and chair of the search committee. “We are looking for someone who wants to teach the next generation of lawyers to do the same.”
The J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation provided funding for the clinic’s litigation efforts and for an endowment to provide loan repayment and fellowships for recent graduates who pursue public interest law in Mississippi. Within five years, the school anticipates that the fund will reach $1 million.
“The public interest endowment will add significantly to the School of Law’s existing strength in graduating students ready for public service and public interest work,” Dean Richard Gershon said. “Our students already benefit from one of the lowest costs of attendance. The loan repayment assistance endowment is another way to help reduce the debt load for our students, which will provide more options when they enter the legal job market.”
The MacArthur Clinic was established due to a connection between the Ole Miss law school and Northwestern University School of Law, which already hosts the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center, a clinic with goals parallel to the new Mississippi program.
“Tom Geraghty (director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern) and I became fast friends and stayed in touch through the years,” said Phil Broadhead, director of the UM Criminal Appeals Clinic. “Last year, he suggested that Locke Bowman, Northwestern MacArthur Justice Center’s executive director, contact me to begin the conversation that has resulted in the MacArthur Justice Clinic becoming a part of our curriculum.”
Students will be involved in cases taken on by the clinic, serving on litigation teams, conducting research and planning next steps to advance litigation.
“For students to be part of the MacArthur Justice Clinic is invaluable,” said Tucker Carrington, director of the Mississippi Innocence Clinic at the law school. “Our university is charged with a mission to serve. Clinics like this and others at our law school fulfill that mission while at the same time teaching students how to address real legal challenges that face our state.”
Along with the MacArthur Clinic, the law school offers clinical programs in child advocacy, street law, transactional law, elder law, tax law, criminal appeals and housing. The school also houses the Mississippi Innocence Clinic, a Clinical Externship Program following national best practices, a Pro Bono Program, nationally ranked advocacy programs and skills intersession courses.
To read the director job description and/or submit an application, visit https://jobs.olemiss.edu/postings/2645. For more information about the UM School of Law, visit http://www. law.olemiss.edu.