Breaking Down Data on Law School Clinics from the Past Year
A definitive look at the work of law school clinics work from April 2024 through April 2025 based on court opinions and broken down by school, clinic, court, and more.
In 2022, Adnan Syed walked out of a Baltimore courtroom after more than two decades behind bars, a free man (the case didn’t end there but ultimately Syed has been released from prison). His release wasn’t the result of a blockbuster legal team or last-minute confession—it stemmed from the persistent, careful advocacy of a law school clinic. Just a few years earlier, law students at the University of Baltimore School of Law's Innocence Project Clinic had taken on his case, ultimately helping to persuade prosecutors to vacate a conviction that had long been questioned. This wasn’t an isolated victory: Syed’s exoneration is part of a broader pattern where law school clinics are quietly transforming lives, exposing systemic failings, and training the next generation of public interest lawyers.
Across the country, from Maryland to Virginia to California, clinics are stepping into gaps where the legal system often falls short. Just last month, the University of Virginia School of Law’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic secured a unanimous victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Cunningham v. Cornell University, expanding the ability of workers to bring retirement-benefit claims. Meanwhile, Stanford Law’s Community Law Clinic helped document a 35% rise in eviction filings in San Mateo County, prompting local governments to revisit tenant protections. Whether freeing the innocent, shielding renters, or reshaping national legal precedent, law school clinics are no longer peripheral—they’re essential engines of justice.
This article examines where and how law school clinics are making their mark—not just in headlines, but in courtrooms across the country. Drawing from a comprehensive dataset of judicial opinions that mention law school clinics by name, the analysis tracks the volume, geographic spread, and subject-matter focus of these programs across federal and state courts. The data capture not only which schools are most active, but also which specific clinics are repeatedly shaping litigation, whether in appellate rulings, district court decisions, or specialized forums like the Court of Federal Claims.
The sections that follow map this footprint in detail: identifying clinics with the strongest presence in federal appellate courts, highlighting programs with sustained engagement in state appellate systems, and surfacing repeat-player clinics in the same courts—where institutional relationships, local expertise, and ongoing client work converge. By following the opinions, we begin to see which clinics are becoming trusted voices in complex cases, which legal domains are most influenced by clinical work, and how both elite and regional schools are contributing to the law’s development in distinct but complementary ways.
The data on law school clinic activity, drawn from court opinions referencing legal clinics in the attorney block, reveals a rich ecosystem of advocacy spanning both elite (T-14) and non-T-14 institutions. While elite law schools—those consistently ranked in the top 14 nationally—show strong representation, a notable presence from regional and mid-ranked schools underscores the broad and growing influence of clinical education in American legal practice.
The Whole Story
The case law tells a striking story: clinics at schools like Indiana University McKinney and the University of Idaho have become regular fixtures in their state appellate courts, shaping doctrine through steady engagement with local legal systems. At the federal level, clinics from George Washington University and Georgetown routinely appear in civil rights and vaccine injury litigation, while Stanford and Michigan have developed influential appellate programs that reach the highest levels of federal court. Clinics at Tulane and UC Davis have established themselves as go-to advocates in trial-level constitutional and civil rights cases, particularly in regions facing urgent housing and speech-related disputes. Even highly specialized forums—such as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims or environmental review bodies—show repeat appearances from schools like Pace and George Mason. Whether based at nationally ranked institutions or regionally anchored public law schools, these clinics are not only teaching the next generation of advocates—they’re building reputations with judges, developing court-specific expertise, and consistently contributing to the evolution of law on the ground.