THE SCIENCES PO LAW SCHOOL CLINIC
The Sciences Po Law School Clinic is an original educational program hosted by the Sciences Po Law School in Paris. An experiential learning
program built around a contextual, interdisciplinary and reflective approach to the contemporary practice of law, it enables students and partner
organizations to engage in cutting edge public interest and social innovation projects at the local, national and global scale. The clinic’s pedagogical
and public interest mission relies on the active involvement of faculty, students and partner organizations in projects related to current social justice
issues. Research is an integral part of the clinic, which aims to influence public debate within and beyond academic circles through the publication of
reports, academic scholarship, as well as public events organized at Sciences Po.
The Sciences Po Law School Clinic covers three specific fields: access to justice, corporate social responsibility and human rights in the context of
economic globalization and development. Each field translates into a specific clinical program, articulated around a clinical seminar. Clinical
seminars are taught by Sciences Po faculty, as well as professionals drawn from a variety of fields. They are built around the various clinical projects
on which teams of students, supervised by professional tutors, work throughout the academic year in partnership with a wide range of
organizations.
1) « Access to justice»:
This program aims at increasing disenfranchised individuals' and communities' ability to assert and uphold their rights in France. It operates by
supporting three ongoing access to justice initiatives. In the "Maisons de Justice et du Droit" project, students work within the three “Houses of
Justice and Law” in Paris and provide free legal advice support on a weekly basis. In the « Crésus » project, students offer legal consultations to
individuals in debt or financially vulnerable in the greater Paris region. In the "Défenseur des Droits" project, students assist the new French “Rights
Defender” (i.e French Ombudsman) in various aspects of its mission, ranging from case selection to case handling under the supervision of the
Défenseur’s in-house legal counsels.
2) « Corporate Social Responsibility » (« RISE » in French)
The second program focuses on corporate social responsibility. Established in 2012, it aims to foster social and innovative corporate practices in
France and beyond. In 2014-15, RISE focuses on employees' participation in corporate governance, the CSR strategy and the development of a
human rights impact assessment tool for a major agrobusiness group. Students have also partnered with one of the first French online retailers to
draft an ethics charter and conduct a field study on working conditions within the company. Another team is involved in developing CSR practices
within law firms (in partnership with the Paris Bar). Students are mentored by seasoned professionals, including lawyers tutoring projects as pro
bono. RISE is supported by Linklaters, Skadden and Gibson Dunn.
3) « Human Rights, Economic Development and Globalization » (HEDG):
This program focuses on accountability for private and public actors of globalization and economic development, the protection, promotion and
realization of human rights, and equitable and sustainable development. In partnership with institutional and non-governmental organizations,
HEDG students design and conduct multi-level advocacy strategies that aim to remedy human rights violations and engage with global justice issues.
The projects conducted since 2012 include: supporting local NGOs to draft human rights impact assessment reports with regard to extractive
mining industries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in partnership with the Carter Center and the Human Rights Institute of the Columbia
Law School), organizing a Symposium on public interest in investment arbitration (in partnership with the law firm White & Case LLP) ; drafting a
research memorandum international forums for advocacy and litigation in the area of economic justice (in partnership with the Open Justice
Initiative) ; writing and submitting an individual complaint to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights with regards to a
right to water case in partnership with a local NGO in Columbia ; combining legal aid and empirical research-based advocacy to assist asylum seekers
and victims of human trafficking (in partnership with France Terre d’Asile).
Students are supervised by professionals on every single project. HEDG is a bilingual and multidisciplinary program open to students from the Law
School and Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA).
Contacts :
Jeremy Perelman
Assistant Professor at Sciences Po, Director of the Law School Clinic
jeremy.perelman@sciencespo.fr
Anne-Solenne de Roux
Project Manager at the Sciences Po Law School
annesolenne.deroux@sciencespo.fr