EXT: Senior Law Center (Quaglia)
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Drafting Legal Documents
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
100% Other (Externships are graded Credit/No Credit )
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can make PowerPoint slides or other class materials available to you.
Meeting Times/Location
TBA
TBA
Category
Clinics/Externships
Credits
4.0
SeniorLAW Center is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that provides direct legal and educational services to over 10,000 Pennsylvania adults, age 60 and over, in homeownership rights, tenant rights, elder abuse and financial exploitation victim services, kinship care and grandparents raising grandchildren, and advance life planning.
The Tenant Rights Unit at SeniorLAW Center is focused on protecting older adults facing homelessness, and an externship in this area involves litigation. We primarily practice landlord-tenant law and students will gain real courtroom experience under close supervision and mentorship. An externship with our unit offers students the opportunity to work on direct client representation, legal research, and systemic advocacy to protect the rights of Pennsylvania tenants. Students will assist SLC attorneys with client intake, interviews, and communication, prepare evidence and cases for trial, and draft complaints for Municipal Court and the Court of Common Pleas, and motions and petitions for the Court of Common Pleas. Students may assist in drafting legislative testimony or other advocacy documents. Students will also attend meetings, briefings, and legislative hearings related to protection of tenant rights. Students who have certification may represent clients in small claims cases for return of security deposits or in petitions to satisfy or vacate judgments in Municipal Court. We prefer students who are available on Thursdays, as that is our busiest day in court. Our attorneys are in court frequently, and we prefer students who wish to learn and practice litigation. Recently, students have assisted in drafting complaints for breaches of Philadelphia's Lead Ordinance and Fair Housing Ordinances, breaches of the warranty of habitability, and in drafting motions, petitions, and discovery requests in the Court of Common Pleas. All work will be done in person at SeniorLAW Center. Litigation level: Extensive.
The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Pennsylvania Project (“GRG”) at SeniorLAW Center focuses on increasing access to legal representation, education, and resources for older adults caring for children when the biological parents are absent. The GRG externship offers students the opportunity to work on direct client representation, legal research and systemic advocacy to protect the rights of Grandparents (and other kin) raising children in Pennsylvania. The externship provides students with access to all aspects of litigation. Students who have certification may have the opportunity to represent clients in custody hearings in Philadelphia Family Court. Externs can expect to assist SLC attorneys with the following: Client intake, interviews, and communication; Drafting complaints, motions and other pleadings for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Family Division; Preparing for hearings and trial, including preparation of evidence and examination of witnesses; Assisting with policy and advocacy work related to the support of older caregivers. All work will be done in person at SeniorLAW Center. Litigation level: Extensive.
The Homeownership Rights Unit assists clients with legal issues involving tangled title, mortgage and tax foreclosure, and other related issues. Students will learn about probate and property law and hone client counseling skills through client intake. The extern will be assigned cases for direct client representation. Students will draft legal advice letters. The externship includes significant transactional experience (probate filings and recording of deeds), as well as potential for litigation experience in the Register of Wills, Orphans’ Court, or Civil Division, depending on current case load. Recent legal memos include topics such as South Philly Trusts, adverse possession, and condo association law. All work will be done in person at SeniorLAW Center. Litigation level: Moderate
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Family Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of family law; Perform legal analysis in the context of family law; Communicate effectively on topics related to family law; Demonstrate an understanding of how family law affects other areas of law.
Health Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of health law and policy; Perform legal analysis in the context of health law and policy; Communicate effectively on topics related to health law and policy; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection among health law and policy and issues of access to services, public and private financing of health industries, and the political and economic issues surrounding issues of health law and health services.
Property and Real Estate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of property and real estate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of property and real estate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to property and real estate law; Demonstrate an understanding of how property and real estate law affect other areas of law.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.