ONTARIO, Calif.

The University of La Verne (ULV) College of Law has announced the opening of its Justice & Immigration Clinic (JIC). The second clinic to be housed on the law school’s Ontario, Calif. Campus, it follows the Summer 2007 opening of the Disability Rights Legal Center.

Both clinics allow students the opportunity to work on real cases for clients under the supervision of a practicing attorney.

Diane Uchimiya, the JIC's clinical law professor, is the supervising attorney.  She is a specialist in immigration law who joined the College of Law in July 2005. Previously, she was a teaching fellow at the Center for Applied Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Center.

“The Justice and Immigration Clinic is specifically devoted to taking on asylum cases,” she said. “The clients who are referred to us will be applying for asylum in the immigration court. A grant of asylum allows an individual to remain in the United States lawfully because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution in their home countries on account of the individual's race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.”

Jane Egly, ULV College of Law’s director of clinical programs, said the new center would benefit the students and the community.

“Our students gain the knowledge, experience and practical skills they need to grow as legal professionals, while asylum applicants receive pro bono legal assistance with the process to apply for permanent legal residency,” she said.

The law school also hopes the added clinic will attract prospective students to its campus.

“Clinical offerings consistently rank high among the factors prospective law students consider when they choose a law school,” said Alexis Thompson, ULV College of Law’s assistant dean of admissions. “In fact, clinical programs are right up there among other top factors, including a law school's location and the reputation of its academic programs and curricula.”