Clinics

JD Clinics

Disaster Relief Clinic

The Disaster Relief Clinic has established a strong framework since beginning disaster recovery work locally and nationwide in late 2017. Its work has included legal assistance for survivors of Hurricane Harvey, Thomas fire, Woolsey fire, and other disasters. The Clinic provides assistance with the transitioning legal needs of clients recovering from disasters in matters including navigating bureaucratic and administrative processes, insurance, government permits and benefits, rebuilding, and more.

Legal Aid Clinic

The Pepperdine Legal Aid Clinic at the Union Rescue Mission serves clients who are homeless on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Students provide pro bono legal services in a variety of civil matters, including family law, income tax, consumer law, benefit controversies and post-conviction reentry.

Community Justice Clinic

The Community Justice Clinic provides legal services for non-profit, religious or community organizations who are working to promote justice and to develop opportunities and resources for vulnerable, underserved people and communities. Students provide corporate counsel and services, including formation, governance and compliance.

Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic

The Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic represents indigent clients as court-appointed counsel in briefing and arguing appeals before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Students evaluate strategy and legal issues, research intensively, write and submit appellate briefs and present oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Restoration and Justice Clinic

The Restoration and Justice Clinic provides legal services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other gender-based crimes. Students build collaborative relationships with professionals in Southern California to facilitate comprehensive services for our clients and to provide experiences in multidisciplinary practice for our students.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) provides direct legal representation to low income taxpayers at the Pepperdine Legal Aid Clinic in downtown Los Angeles. Under attorney supervision, LITC students represent taxpayers in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, including audits, appeals, collection matters, and federal tax litigation. In addition, the clinic provides taxpayer education programs to various social service organizations and community groups.

Faith and Family Mediation Clinic

This Clinic's practice is at the intersection of family law, mediation, and interfaith and intercultural work, providing mediation services to families in civil and religious courts. For divorcing Jewish couples, parties often must receive a religious divorce in addition to a civil divorce. In collaboration with the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles, clinic faculty and students observe and participate in complex mediations in this context.

Straus Institute Clinics

Mediation Clinic

In the Mediation Clinic students have the opportunity to mediate various types of cases including landlord/tenant, employment and merchant/consumer cases. This clinic offers students the opportunity to actually apply mediation theory in context and to enhance their mediation skills by serving as the mediator in numerous small claims court cases and other referred disputes. Students share the specifics of their mediation experiences in class and receive feedback on their strategic and tactical choices, as well as on their tone and demeanor. This critical review is designed to cultivate and refine advanced mediation skills.

Fair Employment and Housing Mediation Clinic

In the Employment Mediation Clinic, students work directly with Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) senior attorney-mediators serving as clinical faculty at the Straus Institute. Students enrolled in the program will prepare DFEH cases for mediation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. In addition, they will gain practical experience mediating and settling employment discrimination complaints under the Department's supervision. Students will experience dispute resolution skills and techniques in all stages of the Department's administration: pre-investigation, post-investigation, pre-civil complaint and class/group as well as individual complaints. In 2013 the State Bar of California awarded DHEF and Pepperdine with the Education Pipeline Award, recognizing outstanding efforts of law-related educational programs.

Palmer Center Clinic

Startup Law Clinic

The Startup Law Clinic at Pepperdine Caruso Law is an initiative designed to train law students to serve entrepreneurs of startups (primarily in the technology sector) with formation, capitalization, corporate governance, user agreements, angel investor financings and venture capital transactions. This initiative will provide Pepperdine law students with valuable and practical experience in the entrepreneurial and startup sector. The Clinic will provide guidance and expertise to entrepreneurs in preparation for a startup's formation and initial capital investment as well as in negotiating the legal and business terms of the investment.