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The outdoor classroom at VLS.

Clinics and Experiential Programs

Many students spend more than a full semester engaged in a combination of clinical and other experiential courses. Before they graduate, more than 70 percent of our students choose to put theory into practice in a variety of different ways each year—from on campus clinical work to externships in law firms, corporations, nonprofits, courts, and government offices, at home and abroad. Twelve VLS faculty teach our clinical and experiential programs, which offer students a wealth of practical, hands-on opportunities to deepen the knowledge and skills they acquire in class.

Students who gain real-world experience not only become better prepared to practice law but often have an immediate positive impact at the community, regional, or even the national level. Recently, our Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic students helped restore protection for the endangered gray wolf in the Northeast, South Royalton Clinic students helped children in need and externship students contributed while apprenticing at sites as diverse as the First, Second, and Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals; the Vermont Attorney General’s Office; the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; the National Wildlife Federation; the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome; and New Hampshire Legal Aid.

Criminal Law Clinic

This clinic offers students interested in criminal law the chance to participate in a seminar taught by a prosecutor and two defense attorneys.

Semester in Practice   New window icon

Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic   New window icon

South Royalton Legal Clinic   New window icon

Land Use Clinic

For more than twenty-five years, Vermont Law School has offered students an opportunity to spend a full semester off campus in a governmental, public interest, or private legal setting under the direct supervision of an experienced attorney or judge.

Judicial Externships

This semester-long practicum places students in judges’ chambers, where students learn about the process of judicial decision making by observing the function of a court. Students work closely with a supervising judge to develop legal skills such as writing, research, and analytical skills.

Part-time JD Externships

Our externships place VLS students in a variety of legal settings—from private firms and corporations to the judiciary, government agencies, and nonprofits—where they develop research, writing, and practical skills under the direction of an attorney-mentor.

MELP and LLM Externships

Our externships place VLS students in a variety of legal settings—from private firms and corporations to the judiciary, government agencies, and nonprofits—where they develop research, writing, and practical skills under the direction of an attorney-mentor.

Legislative Clinic

Both JD and MELP students can undertake internships in the legislature in nearby Montpelier, performing legal research and drafting legislative documents under close supervision. Many VLS graduates go on to work for the Vermont legislature.

Dispute Resolution Clinic

After intensieve training and observation, VLS students participate in civil dispute mediations taking place in Vermont small claims courts.