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The Clinics at Maine Law, established in 1970 as the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, are among the oldest in the nation. A defining program of Maine Law, the Clinics provide law students with practical skills training and they help fulfill the school’s long-standing commitment to social justice.

The mission of the Clinics is to train the next generation of lawyers by promoting access to justice while meeting the acute needs of vulnerable communities. The Clinics provide free legal aid services to over 600 low-income individuals and families annually through its six programs, which include the General Practice Clinic, the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, the Rural Practice Clinic, the Prisoner Assistance Clinic, the Protection from Abuse Program, and the Youth Justice Clinic.

Working under the close supervision of clinical instructors and faculty members, student attorneys enrolled in clinical courses provide direct representation to their clients and gain hands-on lawyering skills conducting client interviews, filing court documents, and standing before a judge. All clinical students are also required to participate in “Lawyering Skills for Clinical Practice,” a semester-long seminar designed to complement and support their case work.

The centers at Maine Law – the Center for Law and Innovation, Center for Oceans and Coastal Law and the Center for Youth Policy and Law – drive research and public policy development in Maine and beyond, engaging legal scholars and public policy experts from all over the world. The centers offer students the opportunity to put their education into practice by participating in projects and initiatives to research critical legal matters, engage with the legislative process, and advance policy solutions. 

At Maine Law, students are guaranteed a clinical or externship experience.

Maine Law’s Externship Program allows students to work alongside seasoned attorneys and judges for academic credit. Depending on the placement, students in the Externship Program handle advocacy, policy, regulatory enforcement, and transactional legal matters, and may have the opportunity to practice as a student attorney during their third year of law school. Students in the Externship Program receive valuable feedback and mentoring from their placement supervisors – who are experienced judges and lawyers – and also from the Externship Professor and Director.

Recent externship placements include:

• Corporate: Geiger; The Jackson Laboratory (JAX); WEX; Match Group LLC, InterMed
• Criminal: Offices of the United States Attorney and the Maine Attorney General; Federal Defender’s Office; Cumberland County DA’s Office; Maine Indigent Defense Center
• Environmental: Conservation Law Foundation; Maine Audubon; Friends of Casco Bay; Maine Renewal Energy Association; Maine Department of Marine Resources
• Judicial Externships: State District Court; U.S. Bankruptcy Court; U.S. District Court (Maine); U.S. Court of Appeals (First Circuit)
• Privacy: International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP); Tyler Technologies; Network Advertising Initiative
• Public Interest: Disability Rights Maine; Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP); Pine Tree Legal Assistance; Maine Equal Justice; ACLU
• Create Your Own Externship: In addition to regularly offered externship placements, students can also create their own externships at any number of courts, agencies, or institutions if approved by the externship director.

The University of Maine School of Law offers an accelerated dual degree option (J.D./M.B.A.) for students in conjunction with the business school of the University of Maine.

Two accelerated dual degree options are also available with the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine: the Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.) and the Juris Doctor and Master of Policy, Planning and Management (J.D/M.P.P.M).