Since its inception, Appalachian School of Law has distinguished itself from other law schools by providing students with rich and practical legal experience well before graduation. ASL is committed to producing practice-ready attorneys.
ABA Standards 303 and 304 require students to complete at least six credit hours of experiential learning. ASL’s prescribed curriculum ensures students complete no fewer than 11 credits of experiential learning. All students complete a simulation course in dispute resolution and negotiation skills (2 credits) in their first year, an Externship during the summer after completion of the first full year (2 credits), and a third-year simulation course called Lawyering Skills (1 credit). In addition, ASL requires students to complete a total of six credit hours of courses that are designated as “Practicum” or “Clinic” courses.
Learn more about our experiential learning opportunities below.
Through this program students engage in activities such as observation of court proceedings, clerking for judges and justices, conducting legal research, interviewing clients, and assisting with trial strategy.
Appalachian School of Law has partnered with Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business and Ballad Health to address the legal needs of low-income healthcare patients and alleviate medical issues that are attributable to or exacerbated by unmet legal needs. Through a strategic collaboration, medical, legal, and business professionals combine their expertise to provide a holistic response to address socio-economic needs that influence health. MLPs across the nation have demonstrated promising results.
Program Leaders:
Ryan Comer, Assistant Professor of Law
Tyler Starnes, Adjunct Professor of Law
Launched in 2022, the Appalachian School of Law’s Advanced Appellate Advocacy Prosecutorial Clinic allows students to work on criminal appeals assigned to the clinic by the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) of Virginia. The clinic reflects the law school’s commitment to experiential learning, professional development, and service to the Commonwealth.
In this first-of-its-kind program in Virginia, students review court records, research legal issues, and draft appellate briefs in criminal appeals pending in the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Faculty members review drafts, provide feedback, and discuss revisions with students. Students then revise briefs, which undergo a final faculty review before submission to the OAG.
The program gives students firsthand experience with criminal appeals while developing practical skills in record review, legal research, and appellate writing. In cases scheduled for oral arguments, students with a third-year practice certificate may have the opportunity to participate in oral argument.
Program Leaders:
Dana Eddy, Executive Director of the West Virginia Public Defender Services
Will Thompson, Dean of Students
Appalachian School of Law has partnered with the West Virginia Public Defender Services to represent indigent people charged with crimes in West Virginia. Students work within existing public defender corporations in West Virginia to represent these individuals under the supervision of public defender attorneys, pursuant to Rule 10 of the West Virginia Rules for Admission to Practice of Law. Initiated as a volunteer program in the Fall Semester of 2026, ASL anticipates offering this clinic for academic credit in the Spring Semester of 2027.
The overwhelming majority of West Virginia counties lack an adequate number of attorneys available for court appointment, and that problem is anticipated to worsen over the next five years. This partnership is intended to help resolve this legal crisis while providing additional training to students. Students participate in court proceedings in the magistrate and circuit courts of southern West Virginia, as well as the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
This program gives students valuable in-court experience, while also teaching other skills, such as conflict resolution, client relations, and dealing with opposing counsel and other parties. While providing students access to potential career opportunities, this clinic is also providing communities in Appalachia with legal resources.
Practicum courses are designed to give students practical, skills-based training. These courses combine skills training with additional instruction in a particular substantive area of the law. The practicum offerings vary from year to year and enrollment in each course is limited. Popular practicum courses offered at ASL include Contract Drafting, Criminal Practice, Employment Discrimination, Estate Planning, Family Law Practice, Information Privacy, Juvenile Practice, Law Office Management, Negotiations in the Criminal Justice System, Pretrial Practice, Real Estate, Social Security Disability, and Trial Advocacy.
ASL’s mission is to develop professionals who will serve as community leaders and advocates. Our school provides a unique program of community service that students may complete in a variety of ways. As a requirement for graduation, each student must complete 25 hours of community service each semester. During their first semester in law school, students satisfy this requirement by taking the mandatory Building a Professional Identity I class, which meets once per week throughout the fall semester.
Here are some ways ASL students have fulfilled their hours:
Students and faculty may create alternative service projects, as well.
