The Housing Law Clinic is a three credit clinic on landlord-tenant law. Students work under the supervision of Adjunct Professor and former Visiting Professor Larry McDonough, and Adjunct Professor and former clinic student Drew Schaffer, both veteran housing attorneys with the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, Inc., along with clinic student directors, in representing tenants facing eviction, housing repair problems, privacy violations, utility shutoff and lockouts in Hennepin County Housing Court.
Since contested Housing Court cases are very active cases which move faster than many other types of civil litigation, the clinic provides an opportunity (1) to handle cases from beginning to end, including interviewing, investigation, drafting pleadings, discovery, motion and trial practice, and appeals; and (2) to have an immediate impact on one of the most important issues in a tenant's life: the need for safe, habitable and stable housing.
Registration is limited to students in either second or third year, with the number based on the number of student directors, in order to keep the student to director ratio low. While not a prerequisite, taking Poverty Law I provides a comprehensive background in landlord-tenant law.
For tenants seeking legal help: The Clinic does not do its own intake. The Clinic takes its cases on referral from the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, which provides legal services to low income persons in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The intake number for Legal Aid is 612-334-5970, open from 9:30 to 11:30 and 1:30 to 3:30. To find other Legal Aid offices in Minnesota, information on courts, and answers to legal questions, go to http://www.lawhelpmn.org.
