Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic | Applications Open

In the Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic students handle court-appointed appeals from briefing to oral argument. The clinic requires a two-semester commitment, so 2L students will start in Spring 2025 and continue through Fall 2025. Over the course of these two semesters, students, in teams of two, will represent a client in an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Students will be required to review the appellate record, research the legal issues presented by the case, prepare the opening and reply briefs, and argue the case before a panel of Ninth Circuit judges.

Students in the clinic will receive three units per semester. The workload required to prepare high-quality appellate briefs and to prepare for oral argument is demanding. The formal in-class time will include a two-hour evening class at the law school meeting once a week and a separate two-hour block of supervised clinic work time during which the students can work on the various aspects of their case under faculty supervision at the professors’ law firm, Horvitz & Levy, in Burbank.

Interested students must apply by preparing a statement of interest explaining the student's interest in appellate law. The application should also include the student's resume, transcript, writing sample and a list of three references along with contact information for each reference. Only two new students can be admitted each semester. The students will be selected based upon the following factors: a demonstrated interest in appellate law, excellent research and writing skills, and general academic excellence. For more information, please visit Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic.

The application deadline is October 28.  Applications should be emailed to Linn Griffin at clinicallaw@pepperdine.edu.