The Immigration Law and Policy Clinic: Advancing Justice, Legal Skills, and the Public Good
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law was at the forefront of the American clinical legal education movement in 1904, when it established the nation’s first legal aid clinic. Today, the law school’s Student Law Office—which consists of clinics in the areas of civil litigation, civil rights, community economic development, criminal defense, environmental law, immigration law and policy, and advancing social change—is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s top 10 programs for clinical legal training.
Access to Justice
The clinics that make up the Student Law Office play a vital role in expanding access to justice for individuals who would likely otherwise lack access to lawyers. “The demand for legal services far outweighs the supply in our community,” notes Elizabeth Jordan, professor and director of the law school’s Immigration Law and Policy Clinic (ILPC).
Founded in 2018 with a catalyzing six-figure investment from an anonymous institutional donor, the ILPC represents clients at the complex intersection of criminal and immigration law, including those at risk of potential removal from the United States. Nearly all the clinic’s clients are detained at the Aurora ICE Processing Center, a for-profit detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. “For detained immigrants, the impact [of the ILPC] is profound, as securing legal representation is one of the strongest predictors of success,” observes Professor Jordan.
While the demand for legal services in the community is overwhelming, the need is even more acute in detention. By taking on detained cases, the clinic addresses a critical gap in representation. “As enforcement continues to ramp up, I anticipate the need will only continue to grow,” adds Jordan.
Legal Skills
Students in the ILPC hone practical skills such as client interviewing, fact investigation, counseling, legal research and writing, oral advocacy, negotiation, and trial preparation. They also come to understand the systemic issues that plague our system of immigration enforcement, including racial and economic bias, the accountability of law enforcement agencies, and the far-reaching effects of incarceration.
The impact of the ILPC on students is profound. “The Immigration Law and Policy Clinic has been a transformative part of my law school education,” recent alumna Anahi Quezada-Villa (JD ’25) shares. “Not only has it prepared me for practice, but it has also allowed me to do meaningful work for the people who need it most.”
“The ILPC showed me what it truly means to be an advocate,” adds Rachel Chambers, a 3L student. “I’ve learned how to represent clients from diverse backgrounds while deepening my understanding of how immigration law touches nearly every area of life.”
Lilli Warren, another 3L student, echoes this sentiment: “Becoming a student attorney in the ILPC has been one of the best decisions I have made. I have learned so much from the experience. While the work is challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding.”
The Public Good
“U.S. law school clinics play an important and distinctive role in expanding access to justice and in advancing the rule of law,” states Dean Bruce Smith. “The Student Law Office at the Sturm College of Law takes on significant and challenging cases, advances important legal arguments, and beneficially impacts clients, communities, and our legal system. For good measure, students gain invaluable training that positions them to enhance the public good.”
“Students not only learn the practice of law under faculty supervision, but they also directly serve individuals and communities in need,” explains Lindsey Webb, associate professor and Ronald V. Yegge clinical director. “The clinics that make up our Student Law Office are a vital part of our mission to provide experiential, impactful education.”
Across the decades, gifts from both individual and institutional donors have played an important role in sustaining—and expanding—the impact of the Student Law Office at the Sturm College of Law. Generous, philanthropic support has provided influential resources for the clinical directorship, scholarships for clinical students, funds to retain expert witnesses and translators, and initiatives to expand community outreach. Fittingly, given its important student and community impact, the Student Law Office and its constituent clinics are a top philanthropic priority as part of The Denver Difference campaign.
To learn more about the ILPC and the other clinics that comprise the Student Law Office, please contact Kelly Hall, Executive Director of Development at the Sturm College of Law, at 303.406.8966 or via email at Kelly.Hall@du.edu.
