Now is an exciting time in the practice of Immigration Law. Students in the Immigrant Rights Clinic are monitoring the developments with the potential Immigration Reform Bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted with a strong bipartisan majority Tuesday evening to advance comprehensive immigration legislation that would put 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
The legislation passed by a vote of 13 to 5 with three Republicans joining 10 Democrats to approve the measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said it will come to the floor next month.
The Immigrant Rights Clinic receives about 20 calls a week from Immigrants wanting more information about the potential immigration reform.  This summer the clinic plans to put together a plan of action in the event that there is Immigration Reform.�
 “Coastal Law is one of the main providers of Immigration Legal Assistance in the community and we want to make sure we are ready to help the community if there is a change”. Said Prof.Ericka Curran

Prof. Ericka Curran won an Award from The City of Jacksonville’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council for work the Clinical program has done in the community representing Immigrant Victims of Crime. Prof. Curran mentioned how proud she is of the amazing work Coastal students do with such vulnerable legal clients. Coastal’s Immigrant Rights Clinic represents victims of human trafficking, violent assaults, sexual violence, domestic violence, child abuse and other violent crimes. This year Students provided over 175 immigrant clients with legal representation.

Coastal Law has five in house clinical programs. The Clinics are located in Suite 255 of the 8787 Baypine Road Jacksonville Fl 32256 Coastal law building.  The Five Clinics are  listed below:

• Family Law (Certified Legal Intern)
• Criminal Defense (Certified Legal Intern)
• Immigrant Rights
• Public Benefits and Disability Rights
• Consumer Law (Certified Legal Intern)

The goal of the program is to serve the needy by teaching students through actual practice. All legal services provided by the clinics are free to the public. Each clinical student enrolled in the program provides direct representation to clients under the supervision of Clinical Faculty/Licensed attorneys.  Students typically take the clinic their 3rd year of law school. This is when students have completed core courses that will be foundational to the live practice experience. 

  Each year Coastal Law Clinics provide thousands of hours of legal services to members of the Jacksonville area community.  Students report that it is an amazing experience and often one of the best in law school. Clients have said that the attention and support they recieve from the students and staff attorneys working on their cases is amazing.  . If you have questions about any of our clinics please do not hesitate to contact us at (904) 680-7782 or stop by and see us ( appointments preferred). . 

Clinic applications still be accepted for certain CLI clinics for summer and fall semester.  Only students with their CLI pending may currently apply.

Coastal Graduate and Clinical Teaching Fellow, Carlos J. Martin passed away suddenly this month. Carlos was an amazing advocate, teacher and mentor.  Carlos was a student in the clinic in 2009/2010 and became our staff attorney/Clinical teaching fellow in 2010.  He supervised students working on Immigration cases and provided direct representation numerous immigrant families.   Carlos was kind, dedicated and an inspiration to so many. We are deeply saddened and shocked by this loss. We will miss you Carlos.

Coastal Law students Participating in a Pro Bono Immigration Form Filling Event in Gainsville During Spring Break.

You must have your CLI for the remaining openings in the Criminal Defense, Consumer Law and Family Law Clinics.

If you have any questions about the specific clinics, you can contact:
Professor Lois Ragsdale, Criminal Defense Clinic, lragsdale@fcsl.edu
Professor Laura Boeckman, Consumer Law Clinic, lboeckman@fcsl.edu
Professor Natalie Tuttle, Family Law Clinic, ntuttle@fcsl.ed

Professors Boeckman, Sullivan, and Tuttle win ABA Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award

Florida Coastal has received the ABA Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award for the pro bono representation of military service-members by Professors Laura Boeckman, Natalie Tuttle, and Sarah Sullivan. This award comes from the Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (LAMP). National recognition by the ABA is a testament to the faculty of Florida Coastal and the outstanding work of Boeckman, Sullivan, and Tuttle.

Academic Sucess will be sponsoring the following Knowledge Bar Sessions to assit students with Bar app and clearance questions.

The CLI is valuable for all students looking for legal work experience, not just students who will take the Florida Bar.  Many of our valuable clinic and externship experiences require teh CLI.

Sessions will take place as follows:

March 6th and 7th
April 9th and 10th
May 2nd

All sessions will occur at the 5th Floor Knowledge Bar from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Come and learn about the amazing work experience opportunities avaialable to Coastal students during law school.
Learn about the CLI process