Harvard Law School students will soon have the opportunity to enroll in clinics for the 2021-22 academic year. We urge students to consider all of the extraordinary clinical programs at HLS, which cover a huge range of substantive issue areas, offer different types of practice opportunities, and take a variety of approaches to learning and pedagogy. And, we particularly hope that they will consider joining us here in the Cyberlaw Clinic.
We wanted to collect in one place some general information about the Clinic and offer resources to HLS 1Ls and 2Ls thinking about enrollment next fall or spring. We hope you will find this helpful and informative, and you can of course reach out (as described below) to get any additional information that might be useful as you make your decision.
Overview of the Clinic: Teaching and Practice
The Cyberlaw Clinic is HLS’s technology law and policy clinical program. We have been up and running for more than two decades, having celebrated our 20th anniversary during the 2019-20 academic year. Our client and project selection activities are driven by a core set of values, which are posted on the front page of our website. Our practice exists at the intersection of law, technology, and social justice, and we work in a broad range of legal areas, including civil rights and civil liberties (e.g., First and Fourth Amendment), human rights, intellectual property, cybersecurity, state and local government, internet business law, and more. We work hard to ensure students get to do the work that most interests them during their time in the Clinic, while at the same time exposing students to the full breadth of our practice. A technical background is by no means required for students to enroll in the Clinic.
Enrollment
The Cyberlaw Clinic is a one-semester clinic. Students enroll for 3, 4, or 5 credits, translating to 144, 192, or 240 hours per semester. (That works out to an average of 12, 16, or 20 hours per week over the course of a 12-week term.) Students simultaneously enroll in the 2-credit Cyberlaw Clinic Seminar.
Some students who have taken the Clinic and the Clinic Seminar may take advantage of the opportunity to return in a future semester as an advanced clinical student. If you have been in the Clinic and Seminar before and interested in returning, please contact a member of the teaching team.
Additional Resources
Here are some additional resources that may be helpful:
- First, here’s a short video that features some members of the Clinic team (Kendra, Chris, Jess, and Mason), providing an overview of the Clinic and talking about their approaches to practice and teaching:
- Second, here’s a short video of Q&A session about the Clinic produced by the Office of Clinical Programs:
Additionally, we will be holding two office hours sessions — Monday April 26 at 12 noon eastern and Friday April 30 at 12 noon eastern — for interested students. Members of the Clinic team and some past and current students will be available to talk about our work. Sign up here:
We hope you will join us with your questions! And, of course, you should always feel free to reach out to anyone on the Clinic team individually to talk about the Clinic, their work, etc. Details, including bio links and contact info, are as follows:
- Kendra Albert (kalbert@law.harvard.edu);
- Chris Bavitz (cbavitz@law.harvard.edu);
- Susan Crawford (scrawford@law.harvard.edu);
- Jessica Fjeld (jfjeld@law.harvard.edu);
- Sybil Gelin (sgelin@law.harvard.edu); and
- Mason Kortz (mkortz@law.harvard.edu).
Image: Cyberlaw Clinic Staff and Students, Fall 2019,
Photographer: Carolyn Schmitt