UC Davis School of Law - Academics and Clinicals - Certificates: Public Service Law Program

Academics and Clinicals

Public Service Law Program

The Public Service Law Program is an academic certification program developed to give students seeking public service careers a theoretical and practical foundation on which to build. Students who have not yet made a decision on a career path or who choose careers in the private sector are also strongly encouraged to participate in the program, to explore a wider range of law-related careers and to receive recognition for service performed while attending UC Davis. Program participants will sharpen their minds and strengthen their legal skills through academic and experiential components. To earn the certificate, students must complete both the academic coursework and public service legal work requirements.

Each year, a high percentage of King Hall graduates receive their Public Service certificate, demonstrating a school-wide commitment to serving the community. These certificates are awarded at a special Public Service Graduation ceremony designed to honor certificate and award recipients. Students are eligible to enroll in the program at any time throughout law school but are encouraged to enroll soon after registering for an approved course or obtaining a qualifying position. After enrolling, candidates for the Public Service Law Program Certificate may notate their candidacy for the certificate on their resumes.

Academic Coursework Requirements

Program candidates must complete a minimum of 15 credits of public service coursework from the list below. The courses which can be counted toward the public service requirement are also denoted on the Course Descriptions page. Coursework requirements begin in the second year, as all first-year students follow a required curriculum. The academic coursework requirements are attainable for almost every student who seeks to incorporate the approved courses into their studies. Many classes from different areas of interest qualify each semester, enabling students with a broad range of concentrations to complete the requirements while taking classes relevant to their career path. Units from clinical fieldwork may also be counted towards coursework requirements.

Public Service Legal Work Requirements

Program candidates must complete a minimum of 175 hours of legal work in public interest organizations, government agencies, and courts. The work must be performed under the supervision of an attorney or a member of the Law School faculty. It can be paid, volunteer or for clinical units. The experiential component provides students the opportunity to make important contacts with public service attorneys. In addition to assisting public service organizations meet their needs, volunteering offers students opportunities to interact with attorneys and gain practical legal work experience.

For additional information contact Kirsten Hill, Associate Director of Career Services & Public Interest Career Planning in Career Services at 530.752.5135 or khhill@ucdavis.edu.

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Local 1199 Salute to Freedom, March 1968

Forms

Public Service Law Program Forms which includes the following:

Courses

Administration of Criminal Justice Externship
(Law 470) (2 to 6 or 12 units)

Administrative Law
(Law 235) (3 units)

Advanced Constitutional Law Seminar
(Law 288) (2 units)

Advanced Criminal Procedure
(Law 227B) (3 units)

Alternative Dispute Resolution
(Law 297) (3 units)

Animal Law Seminar
(Law 224) (2 units)

Antitrust
(Law 262) (3 units)

Appellate Advocacy I (Moot Court)
(Law 410A) (2 units)

Appellate Advocacy II (Moot Court)
(Law 410B) (2 units)

Asian American Jurisprudence
(Law 450T) (3 units)

Bioethics
(Law 286C) (3 units)

Biotechnology Law and Policy Seminar
(Law 289A) (2 units)

California Environmental Issues Seminar
(Law 285A) (2 units)

Civil Rights Clinic
(Law 420) (2 to 6 units)

Civil Rights Law
(Law 267) (3 units)

Climate Change Law and Policy
(Law 285E) (3 units)

Community Education Seminar
(Law 408) (3 units)

Corporate and White Collar Crime
(Law 245) (3 units)

Criminal Justice Administration Seminar
(Law 210) (2 units)

Critical Race Theory
(Law 222) (3 units)

Death Penalty Seminar
(Law 245B) (2 units)

Disability Rights
(Law 226) (2 units)

Educational Policy and the Law
(Law 408A) (2 units)

Elections and Political Campaigns
(Law 240) (2 units)

Employment Discrimination
(Law 260) (3 units)

Employment Relations Externship
(Law 455) (2 to 6 units)

Energy Law Seminar
(Law 282) (2 units)

Environmental Law
(Law 285) (4 units)

Environmental Law Externship
(Law 450) (2 to 4 units)

Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
(Law 409) (2 units)

Environmental Practice
(Law 285B) (3 units)

Environs
(Law 418) (1-2 units)

Environs Editor
(Law 418) (1 units)

Family Law
(Law 272) (3 units)

Family Protection Clinic
(Law 435) (4 units)

Federal and State Taxation Externship
(Law 430) (2 to 6 units)

Federal Jurisdiction
(Law 246) (3 units)

Feminist Legal Theory
(Law 259) (2 units)

food-law-and-culture
(Law 285T) (2 units)

Free Trade and the Environment
(Law 230T) (2 units)

Fundamentals of Public International Law
(Law 248T) (1 units)

Globalization and the Law
(Law 248D) (3 units)

Health Care Law
(Law 286) (3 units)

Housing Law
(Law 254) (2 units)

Human Rights in the Former Soviet Union: Legal Tools for Repression and Redress: Part II
(Law 248BT) (2 units)

Immigration Law and Procedure
(Law 292) (3 units)

Immigration Law Clinic
(Law 440A (Fall) 440B (Spring)) (4 each semester (maximum of 8) units)

International Business Transactions
(Law 270) (2 units)

International Environmental Law
(Law 230) (3 units)

International Finance
(Law 291A) (4 units)

International Human Rights
(Law 248B) (2 units)

International Intellectual Property and Development
(Law 274A) (3 units)

International Law in the Public Sphere (Public International Law)
(Law 248) (3 units)

International Litigation and Arbitration
(Law 252) (3 units)

Judicial Externship
(Law 425) (2 to 6 or 12 units)

Judicial Process
(Law 261) (2 units)

Jurisprudence Seminar
(Law 250) (2 units)

Juvenile Justice Seminar
(Law 276) (2 units)

Labor Law
(Law 251) (3 units)

Labor Law I
(Law 251T) (2 units)

Labor Law II
(Law 251TB) (2 units)

Land Use Planning and the California Environmental Quality Act
(Law 256) (2 units)

Law and Rural Livelihoods Seminar
(Law 254A) (2 units)

Law and Society Seminar
(Law 287T) (2 units)

Legislative Process
(Law 257) (2 units)

Legislative Process Externship
(Law 445) (2 to 4 units)

Local Government Law
(Law 281) (2 units)

Marital Property
(Law 225) (2 units)

Mediation (Representing Clients in Mediation)
(Law 239) (2 units)

Medical Liability Law and Policy
(Law 212A) (2 units)

Moot Court Board
(Law 414) (1 units)

Native American Law
(Law 277) (2 units)

Natural Resources Law Seminar
(Law 265) (2 units)

Negotiations
(Law 211) (2 units)

Nonprofit Organizations and Drafting: A-Z Coverage with Document Drafting
(Law 271) (4 units)

Nonprofit Organizations I: State and Local Governance Issues
(Law 271A) (2 units)

Nonprofit Organizations II: Tax Exemptions and Taxation Focus
(Law 271B) (2 units)

Policing Seminar
(Law 210B) (2 units)

Prison Law Clinic
(Law 480) (2 units)

Public Benefits Law Seminar
(Law 287A) (2 units)

Public Health Law
(Law 286B) (2 units)

Public Interest Law Externship
(Law 460) (2 to 6 units)

Public Interest Law Seminar
(Law 293) (2 units)

Public Land Law
(Law 287) (3 units)

Remedies
(Law 283) (3 units)

Reproductive Rights, Law, and Policy
(Law 286E) (2 units)

Sex-Based Discrimination
(Law 231) (3 units)

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Law
(Law 231A) (3 units)

Tax and Distributive Justice
(Law 220B) (3 units)

Topical Issues in Health Law Seminar
(Law 286A) (2 units)

Trial Practice Honors Board
(Law 415) (1 units)

Trial Practice I
(Law 263A) (3 units)

Washington (UC-DC) Law Program
(Law 475) (10 units)

Water Law
(Law 264) (2 units)

Women, Islam, and Law
(Law 259T) (2 units)