Field Placement
Academic Year

Faculty Supervisor

Professor Craig Cowie

Supervising Attorneys

Beth Hayes

Prerequisite

Professional Responsibility

Recommended Course

It is strongly recommended that students in this clinic take the Consumer Protection course.

Areas of Emphasis

Consumer Law; Professional Responsibility; Housing, Public Benefits; Bankruptcy, Negotiations; Research and writing; civil litigation; interviewing and counseling; problem-solving

Sample Projects

• Conduct client interviews
• Conduct discovery
• Research legal issues
• Draft correspondence, memoranda, pleadings and briefs
• Prepare for and attend settlement conferences and court hearings

General Information

The consumer protection clinic student works specifically with MLSA’s Consumer Protection Practice Group, providing advice and legal representation to qualifying Montanans with consumer issues. The clinic student will provide advice, brief services, and sometimes direct representation to MLSA clients facing debt collection lawsuits. This will involve extensive discovery practice. The clinic student will assist in MLSA’s ongoing consumer litigation, including practice in justice court, state district court, and federal court. MLSA’s Consumer Protection Practice Group provides holistic advice to clients facing financial challenges, including guidance on rights related to debt collectors, credit reporting, and counseling related to bankruptcy. The clinic student will be research and become familiar with various federal consumer protection statutes (including, but not limited to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, as well as the Montana Consumer Protection Act). Clinic students will help MLSA clients understand and assert their rights under Montana’s exemption laws when facing execution on judgments.

The clinic student will also work with MLSA’s housing and public benefits practice groups to the extent they overlap with consumer issues.