In Baltimore City, where 1 in 48 people over the age of 13 are living with HIV, the clinical experience will involve addressing the civil legal needs of primarily people living with HIV. Under faculty supervision, students will provide direct client representation, and engage in interdisciplinary work with students and professionals in the fields of social work and healthcare. In cases referred from the MLP Clinic’s partner HIV medical clinic on campus, students will represent clients in both litigation and non-litigation matters in a range of matters which could include SSI/ Social Security disability benefits, custody, employment discrimination, advance care planning and medical decision-making (preparing medical advance directives, simple wills, and powers of attorney), legal name change for transgender clients, and housing and eviction.

Students will develop interviewing, counseling, negotiation, written and oral advocacy, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills, as well as identify and address professional responsibility issues. Students will learn about the influence of trauma on individuals and families, and practice trauma-informed and client-centered lawyering. Through their casework, seminar, and interdisciplinary case conferences, students will experience first-hand how a person’s environment (including poverty and other “social determinants of health”) impacts their physical and mental health, and explore the role that lawyers can play in advancing health outcomes for vulnerable clients.

Students taking this course receive experiential credit toward certification in the Law and Health Care Program. This course is a full-year clinic, in which students enroll for 4 credits in the fall and 4 credits in the spring. Students enrolled in this clinic will be required to attend in-person clinic orientation on Monday, August 21, 2023, in addition to any clinic-specific orientation that the professor may schedule.