Practicums

Students study in the Charles B. Sears Law Library in O’Brian Hall.

Students study in the Charles B. Sears Law Library in O’Brian Hall.

Practicum courses combine service learning alongside practicing lawyers with the study of a substantive area with a full-time professor.

Practicums Overview

These four-credit experiential courses are based around hands-on fieldwork assisting and observing practicing attorneys. They explore the related subject area in depth and work on other skills (such as interviewing and counseling clients, access to justice, and writing) through weekly classroom work. This class is taught by a team consisting of a full-time professor and an expert practicing attorneys. Students have a chance to observe and reflect on the process of becoming an attorney.

The course requirements include assigned reading and multimedia observations, regular journaling to reflect on the students' experiences in practice, and an end-of-semester project on a legal topic that grows from their work.

Currently Available Practicums

  • Human Rights Practicum
    4/22/26
    The Human Rights Practicum works on behalf of human rights organizations, policy and advocacy groups, and individual victims of human rights abuse to promote respect for human rights, international law, and global solidarity.
  • Veterans Law Practicum
    4/22/26
    The Veterans Law Practicum (VLP) connects UB Law students with veterans in need of critical legal assistance. Supervised by experienced attorneys, VLP students will provide vital support in four core areas: pension benefits, survivors' pensions, survivor benefits and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and Character of Discharge determinations
  • Asylum Appellate Advocacy Practicum
    4/22/26
    The Asylum Appellate Advocacy Practicum will examine key appellate doctrines, procedure, and practice through an in-depth look at asylum and immigration petitions for review pending at the federal courts of appeals.