Life at Chicago-Kent
Legal Clinics
Chicago-Kent Legal Clinic (C-K Law Group) is an actual in-house law firm staffed not simply by academics, but by practicing attorneys, some of whom allow even first-year students to work on a wide range of legal matters alongside them.
Known since the early 1980s simply as “The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent,” the C-K Law Group was a pioneer in clinical legal education when it adopted a fee-generating model designed to replicate the experience of employment at a private law firm. Chicago-Kent legal clinic takes the concept of experiential “learning by doing” to an entirely new level, allowing students to work on sophisticated litigation and transactional matters within numerous fields, all while under the supervision of highly experienced and ethical practitioners.
Students will have the opportunity to engage in many, if not all, aspects of a case, including client interviews; discovery; preparation of motions, pleadings and correspondence; pretrial conferences; depositions; preparation for settlement or trial; and, at times, even arguing before a judge.
Today, C-K Law Group is a giant among the USA law school legal clinics, with eight in-house practicing attorneys and two off-site adjunct attorneys. C-K in-house practicing attorneys rank among the top practitioners nationally, with a record of client success that rivals that of Chicago's premier law firms.
Moot Courts
Chicago-Kent has earned a national reputation for having one of the top Trial Advocacy Programs in the country. A large part of this recognition is due to its trial advocacy teams, which have a long tradition of excellence at national and regional competitions. The law school has won the National Trial Competition, the premier trial advocacy competition in the United States, in 1988, 2007, 2008 and 2015, and they are currently ranked seventh in the country by U.S. News and World Report.
Chicago-Kent is the team to beat in trial advocacy competitions, consistently ranked among the best in the nation. Joining Chicago-Kent’s team is hard work, but also well worth it for those who wish to gain invaluable courtroom experience. And you won’t go it alone: alumni and former champions volunteer hundreds of hours to help you bring out your best.
Legal Research and Writing
Chicago-Kent College of Law recognizes that legal research, analysis, and writing are the most critical lawyering skills taught in the law school curriculum and that these skills cannot be completely acquired in a single year. Consequently, the school requires that its students take five semesters of legal writing classes before they graduate. Chicago-Kent was the first law school in the United States with a three-year writing requirement. The program recognizes that Chicago-Kent graduates will serve a wide variety of clients in a wide variety of roles, all of which require effective analytical, research, and communications skills.
Externships
Chicago-Kent's Legal Externship Program (LEP) enables Chicago-Kent students to receive academic credit for externing with a designated supervising attorney in a wide variety of legal areas—private or public, civil or criminal. Externs integrate and assimilate the skills learned in the classroom with those acquired in a specialized field.
Chicago-Kent has long recognized that classes and textbooks alone are not sufficient to complete the education and transformation of our students into practitioners. To become a good lawyer, students also need practical experience in real-world legal work, and many students are not fortunate enough to receive a paid or volunteer position that exposes them to this type of experience. The LEP is a four-credit-hour program that allows externs to receive academic credit, not pay, for working in a school-approved curriculum in a specific area of law.
Chicago-Kent’s deep connections within the Chicago legal community—the third largest in the nation—allows students to work not only in the chambers of federal and state judges, but also for organizations such as the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, the United States Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and various county prosecutors and public defenders. Private law firms, corporations, and a wide variety of advocacy organizations are also part of our extensive externship network.
Student Support
While you attend Chicago-Kent, you won’t be alone. The college has a range of resources to help students overcome the challenges of law school, whether it be through peer support, faculty guidance, counseling services, or other specialized services. You’ll get personalized attention from staff and faculty who are recognized not just for their achievements, but for their compassion for their students.
The Office of Student Affairs is dedicated to providing you with the best possible learning environment and supporting you in fulfilling your academic goals through a variety of means, including:
Academic Support: Our Academic Skills Program, open to all students, allows students to receive help with their studies through workshops, small student group sessions, and personalized teaching assistants.
Disability Resources: The law school building is fully accessible and, on an individual basis, we provide reasonable accommodations to all students with permanent or temporary disabilities.
Mental Health and Wellness: Our Wellness@CK program is dedicated to the well-being of all students, in the form of counseling services and other supportive programs.
Bar Preparation: Chicago-Kent encourages students to think about bar preparation beginning in the first year, with the goal of being bar ready by graduation.
Religious and Spiritual Life: Chicago-Kent is committed to providing an inclusive community for all our students, including students of faith. Find out how.