The CCR Fellowship Program

Each year CCR selects up to twelve first-year students as Fellows in the program. Through coursework, clinical experiences, externships, monthly colloquiums, and other special programs, Fellows gain a deep understanding of the legal issues that affect children. CCR offers Fellows a generous renewable partial tuition fellowship, and they can apply for stipends to support summer positions with government agencies, public interest groups, or other organizations that involve children’s rights. CCR Fellows participate in the regular academic program of the law school while they complete a focused CCR core curriculum. Throughout their law school careers, Fellows enroll in courses such as Family Law, Juvenile Justice, and experiential learning opportunities focused on children’s issues. In the Lawyering Skills course that accompanies their externship or clinical experience, Fellows discuss the legal, social, economic, and psychological insights they gain from their work.

CCR Fellows are required to complete the following courses to earn their CCR certificate upon graduation:

2nd Year

  • Juvenile Justice**
  • Family Law*

3rd Year

  • Experiential Learning*
  • Elective Specialty Course(s)*

*May be taken in either 2d or 3d year or during the summer. The Experiential Learning requirement may be satisfied by a two-unit Externship (plus Lawyering Skills) in an approved child law related placement or by enrollment in the WLS Children’s Rights Clinic. Additional Externships or the Clinic may be used to satisfy the approved elective requirement.

**May be taken in either 2d or 3d year, but students planning to take Juvenile Law Advocacy should take Juvenile Justice in their 2d year.

In addition, Fellows are required to choose a minimum of 3 units of elective credit from the following approved electives.

APPROVED ELECTIVES

Abuse and Neglect, Delinquency, and Advocacy

  • California Family and Juvenile Law Legislation
  • Children’s Advocacy Clinic
  • Comparative Juvenile Criminal Law
  • Criminal Trial Advocacy—Juvenile Section
  • Juvenile Law Advocacy
  • Street Law

Family Law

  • Adoption Law
  • California Family and Juvenile Law Legislation
  • Child Custody: Law and Practice
  • Children’s Advocacy Clinic
  • Comparative Approaches to Gay and Lesbian Parenting: Artificial Insemination, Adoption, Foster Care, and Child Custody
  • Comparative Legal Systems: Law and Muslim Communities
  • Contemporary Problems in Family Law
  • Family Violence Clinic
  • International Adoption Law
  • International Children’s Rights
  • International and Comparative Family Law
  • International Reproductive Technologies
  • Legal Issues of LGBT Youth: A Comparative Approach
  • Reproductive Technology and the Law

Special Education

  • Disability Law
  • Education Law
  • Special Education Clinic
  • Special Education Law

Some of the approved elective courses are typically offered for 2 units. Students who choose a 2-unit elective can meet the minimum 3 units of elective credit in any of the following ways:

  1. by taking an additional unit of experiential learning credit;
  2. by completing a one-unit independent study in a related area;
  3. by membership on the Whittier Journal of Child and Family Advocacy, which requires completion of a note or comment; or
  4. by completing an additional elective course from the above list.

OTHER RELATED RECOMMENDED ELECTIVES

  • Bioethics
  • Civil Rights
  • Community Property
  • Health Law
  • Immigration and Naturalization Law
  • Legislation
  • Legislative Drafting
  • Native Americans and the Law
  • Poverty Law
  • Pretrial Litigation Skills and Strategy
  • Public Interest Law
  • Women and the Law

Interested students apply to the CCR Fellowship Program by completing the Supplemental Fellowship Application. CCR selects Fellows on the basis of academic achievement and their passion for, experience with, and commitment to children’s issues.

Student Experience

“CCR is a dynamic and evolving program that exposes students to actual children’s legal issues in writing class, internship opportunities and networking. I believe Whittier CCR Fellows are uniquely equipped to succeed after graduation, both practically and professionally, because of the experiences we gain as students.”

Taylor Dudley
CCR Fellow, Class of 2010
Robin Nash Fellow, Barton Child Law and Policy Center, Emory University School of Law
Attorney, The Alliance for Children’s Rights, Los Angeles, California

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