The Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at Berkeley Law administers a specialized certificate program for graduating J.D. and LL.M. students that recognizes successful completion of a course of study focused on public interest and social justice.
SUBMISSION PROCESS
We are no longer accepting applications for the Public Interest + Social Justice Certificate for AY 24-25. The deadline to apply was March 3. LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Please apply at the application link below.
*Please note that you can double-list courses and writing requirements for both the PISJ Certificate and the Race and Law Certificate*
REQUIREMENTS
J.D. students must complete the following to be eligible for the Certificate:
- At least two (2) courses listed under the Social Justice and Public Interest category or subcategory in the course catalog. Courses must be at least two units to qualify.
- At least one (1) course in the law school’s clinical program (in-house or EBCLC) or completion of a field placement with a public interest/social justice focus.
- One (1) core course in procedure from the following list of core courses:
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence
- Criminal Procedure
- Administrative Law
- Constitutional Law
- Legislation
- Federal Courts
- One (1) paper or other written product on a public interest/social justice topic that meets the standards for either Option 1 or Option 2 of the the J.D. writing requirement. Refer to the Academic Rules for the complete scope and standards of this requirement. Students should submit a paper written to fulfill a course requirement at Berkeley Law; LAW 299 individual research-and-writing projects can also meet this requirement.
LL.M. students must complete the following to be eligible for the Certificate:
- At least two (2) courses listed under the Social Justice and Public Interest category or subcategory in the course catalog. Courses must be at least two units to qualify.
- Sixty (60) hours participation in a Pro Bono Project, clinic, or field placement with a public interest/social justice focus.
- One (1) core course in procedure from the following list of core courses:
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence
- Criminal Procedure
- Administrative Law
- Constitutional Law
- Legislation
- Federal Courts
- A rigorous research and writing experience under the supervision of a member of the faculty, which results in a single written work of at least 15 pages in length, and can be written for a class taken at the law school.
STUDENTS WISHING TO SATISFY THE WRITING REQUIREMENT WITH CLINICAL WORK:
Your supervising attorney will need to confirm your work by sending an email to henderson.center@law.berkeley.edu.
For an example email requesting confirmation from your supervising attorney please visit: https://berkeley.box.com/s/l9kbhto50vsr0gqmebkyr4mdwqowi3s1
PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT ANY CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS OR FILES!
VARIANCES
There is some flexibility in the application of the certificate requirements, allowing students to substitute other curricular activities for a shortfall in the formal requirements. Students who are close to meeting the Public Interest and Social Justice certificate requirements may submit a Public Interest and Social Justice certificate application along with a brief (one paragraph) request for a variance.
The Henderson Center does not approve of variance requests in advance, only at the time of receiving the application.
Please email the Henderson Center with any questions: henderson.center@law.berkeley.edu