AVE MARIA SCHOOL OF LAW

Ave Maria School of Law’s Clinical Program provides students with opportunities in an array of practice areas.
By serving actual clients, students develop skills, learn advanced research and case development strategies, achieve a greater understanding of the relevant substantive law, and gain practical experience serving actual clients.
In addition, students gain a deeper appreciation for the mission of Ave Maria School of Law, which encourages its students and graduates to serve the common good.

Ave Maria School of Law offers students the opportunity to work a full-time legal internship for law school credit through one of our Legal Internship Programs. Students in their final year of law school may be able to apply for placement through these programs. The Legal Internships are designed to immerse students in real world legal settings through hands-on practical experience at one of several organizations

The Ave Maria School of Law Externship Program allows students to earn academic credit while gaining hands-on legal experience working with state and federal judges, government agencies, public interest offices, corporations, and private law firms. Student externs find their externships enrich their education by facilitating the practical application of what they learn in the classroom. Judges and lawyers serve as field supervisors, and throughout the externship, Law School faculty support student externs.

The study of International Law and Human Rights at Ave Maria School of Law is unique for its focus on the Catholic intellectual tradition, founded on divine nature law, the source of all law. In addition, we offer support to the mission and role of the Holy See on the international and regional levels through research, writing and collaboration.

Ave Maria School of Law, in conjunction with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, sponsors the Reed Larson Professorship of Labor Law. The position is held by John Raudabaugh, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board (1990-1993) and an experienced labor and employee relations attorney.

The Foundation provides Professor Raudabaugh’s services to Ave Maria School of Law. He teaches courses related to labor law and employee rights. As part of his teaching duties, Professor Raudabaugh supervises a labor law litigation course (practicum or clinic) involving students in significant Foundation-supported cases each academic term, thereby giving high level litigation experience and education to Ave Maria School of Law students. Specific details of Professor Raudabaugh’s courses are available and distributed prior to each semester. In addition to his teaching duties, Professor Raudabaugh, as a Foundation Staff Attorney, works in the Foundation’s legal aid program and litigates Foundation-supported cases brought on behalf of individual workers (described at www.nrtw.org).

The Advanced Critical Thinking program at Ave Maria School of Law is a groundbreaking approach to learning that will have you understanding course work and applying concepts faster and more effectively than ever before

In September 2010, Ave Maria School of Law launched an unprecedented effort to prepare her graduates to succeed on the bar exam. These efforts, which were further expanded during the last academic year, include new mandatory and elective course offerings, the creation and enhancement of our Advanced Critical Thinking department, an array of other programming and expert guest lecturers, and a renewed emphasis on academic rigor. We believe that taken together and over time, this new, comprehensive approach will ensure that our graduates are given all they need to succeed on bar examinations.