Experiential Education
Mercer Law’s commitment to practical training, along with our small size and personal approach, has produced a uniquely intensive and broad-based program of experiential education. All faculty members who teach in the experiential education program are members of the full-time tenured faculty—indicating the importance we place on these courses. And our small size allows us to make the experiential education program available to all students while providing an atmosphere that fosters genuine, meaningful relationships between faculty and students.
Experiential learning at Mercer Law is comprehensive, providing both practical experience and specialized course work to complement hands-on learning.
- All Mercer Law students take required courses in skills such as interviewing and counseling, negotiation, mediation, and trial advocacy;
- Second and third-year students take advantage of our extensive externship program, working with a wide range of lawyers and judges, including criminal prosecutors, public defenders, civil legal services, military lawyers, and government agencies;
- Third-year students can take one of our clinical courses, in which they are certified to appear in court under the supervision of a practicing lawyer;
- Students in all three years participate in mock trial, moot court, and other lawyering competitions sponsored by the Mercer Advocacy Council;
- Stipend and fellowship programs support public service internships during the summer;
- Mercer Law students devote hundreds of pro bono hours each year to legal services organizations such as the Georgia Legal Services Program and Crisis Line and Safe House.
As a result of these experiences and educational opportunities, Mercer Law graduates are ready to take on a wide range of responsibilities from the beginning of their practice.