Government Civil Litigation Clinic - Southern District of New York
Conducted with the cooperation of the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern
District of New York
LW.11701/LW.11895
Professor Andrew W. Schilling
Open to 3L and 2L students
Maximum of 10 students
Fall and Spring semesters
5 credits*
No prerequisites or co-requisites**
Course Description
Up to ten students will be selected to participate in the Government Civil Litigation Clinic - SDNY, in the
Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, recognized nationally
as one of the finest law offices, public or private, in the country.
As described below, the clinic includes fieldwork and a two-hour seminar. Students are required to work
twelve to fifteen hours each week in the United States Attorney's Office. The seminar meets on Thursday
evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the United States Attorney’s Office.
Work of the Civil Division
The work of the Civil Division offers perhaps the most challenging and diverse civil caseload of any law
office, public or private, in the United States. An Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division represents the
interests of the United States and its agencies at trial and on appeal in affirmative and defensive civil litigation
in the Southern District of New York. On the affirmative side, Civil Division Assistants not only investigate and
prosecute health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and labor racketeering cases, but also enforce the federal civil
rights laws, environmental laws, and tax laws. On the defensive side, Civil Division Assistants represent such
federal agency clients as the CIA, the FBI, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Treasury,
often in cases that implicate the national security of the United States, raise complex issues of first impression,
and involve challenges to the constitutionality of federal statutes and regulations. Civil Assistants run their
cases from investigation through conclusion, handling all court appearances from initial conference, through
trial, and on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, performing legal work that
rivals that found in the nation’s premier law offices. The Civil Division generally does not require Assistants to
specialize, thus providing a civil practice that is extraordinary in its scope. Assistants in the Civil Division are
afforded the unique opportunity to represent the United States of America in some of the most important and
difficult matters, affirmative and defensive, that our legal system has to offer.
Fieldwork
Each student will be assigned to work with two Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs). This
arrangement permits continuity of assignments and familiarity with the cases of the AUSAs. Diversity of
assignments by AUSAs is encouraged, and will include not only traditional legal research, but also legal
drafting, participation in pre-trial discovery proceedings and trial preparation. Students will attend depositions,
court proceedings, settlement negotiations, trials, and appellate arguments.
The Seminar
Participants meet weekly for a two-hour evening seminar conducted at the United States Attorney's
Office. Through legal drafting assignments, in-class simulations, and class discussion, participants study the
substantive, stylistic and tactical considerations in the conduct of litigation as a mechanism for dispute
resolution. The seminar will also focus on the unique ethical issues that confront government lawyers in civil
cases.
Application Procedure
Interested students should immediately submit an application, transcript, résumé and writing sample (of
no more than ten pages) via CAMS, the online application system. There will be no interview, but students are
invited to contact the professor Andrew Schilling at
andrew.schilling@usdoj.gov to discuss any questions
concerning the course.