Children's Law Clinic
The Children’s Law Clinic provides free legal advice, advocacy, and legal representation to low-income, at-risk children in cases involving special education, school discipline, and children’s disability benefits.
The clinic is staffed by Duke Law students who bring their compassion, commitment, and energy to the task of advocating for at-risk children. One of the few programs in North Carolina with expertise in special education and school discipline law, it has represented hundreds of children from a wide region around Durham since its establishment in 2002. Most cases involve children with disabilities and other special needs who have been unable to get appropriate special education services or who are facing long-term suspensions from school. The clinic also helps families establish eligibility for important public benefit programs or find ways to live in more stable family situations. Students work directly with the child as well as families, schools, social workers, and health professionals to resolve issues and ensure the child’s well-being.
The Children’s Law Clinic has an active role in the Medical-Legal Partnership for Families in Durham. Partnering with Legal Aid of North Carolina, Duke Primary Care for Children, and Lincoln Community Health Clinic, the clinic provides legal help in a wide range of issues that affect the overall well-being of its clients. Doctors and other professionals refer their patients to the clinic to provide holistic support for the child and his or her family. As a team, the medical provider and legal provider can help a disabled child obtain needed benefits or avoid losing them.
I enrolled in the Children’s Law Clinic during the fall semester of my 3L year because I needed four credits and my friend convinced me to join him. As it turned out, my participation in the clinic proved to be the most valuable experience of my law school career.
The Children’s Law Clinic filed an amicus brief on April 17 on behalf of special education advocacy groups urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Bruno v. Northside Independent School District, a case involving the “comparable services” provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Tom Yu ’20 and Zack Kaplan ’21 drafted the brief under the supervision of William B. McGuire Clinical Professor of Law Jane Wettach, the clinic’s founding director, and Supervising Attorney Peggy Nicholson.
The Children’s Law Clinic enrolled 20 students over the two semesters of the 2018-19 academic year, logging a total of 2,855 hours of work on their Clinic cases. Forty-eight different families were served. The services ranged from brief advice to very extensive representation that lasted throughout the year. As in past years, advocacy for the rights of disabled students in schools was the core of the Clinic work.
In the News
Clinic Faculty
Jane R. Wettach
William B. McGuire Clinical Professor of Law
Director, Children's Law Clinic
Peggy Nicholson
Lecturing Fellow
Supervising Attorney, Children’s Law Clinic
Children's Law Clinic
Duke Law School
Box 90360
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0360
Phone: (919) 613-7169
Fax: (919) 613-7262