Belmont’s College of Law was awarded $260,000 by the Speer Foundation to fund the Healthcare Justice Clinic, the College’s first hybrid clinic which will be embedded at the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC). The grant — the College of Law’s largest grant of its kind — will fund a two-year pilot of the clinic for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years.
For more than 28 years, leaders from across the Tennessee law community have joined together through TJC, a leading nonprofit organization working to fill the gap created by restrictions on legal services programs.
The Healthcare Justice Clinic, coordinated by a TJC staff attorney designated as the “Speer fellow” and staffed by Belmont law students, will expand TJC’s work of advocating for vulnerable Tennessee families, including families of children with special needs, older adults and caregivers, people with disabilities, those needing long-term care and many others.
“There are way more Tennesseans who need help than our small staff can handle, so this new resource will make a powerful difference,” said Michele Johnson, TJC co-founder and executive director. “Belmont has been a vital part of our story, and this deepens and strengthens that bond. I suspect it will be a draw for public interest-minded students who work with us as high schoolers and college students (from around the country) to see Belmont law students in the clinic and in the fellowship position, inspiring them to join this journey upon seeing Belmont's example.”
Each term, three to six law students will be selected for the Healthcare Justice Clinic externship, working on behalf of clients who need legal representation, education and advocacy. Law students will receive three academic credits towards their juris doctor degrees and gain experience working at least 100 hours under the supervision of the Speer fellow and a senior TJC staff attorney. The TJC senior staff attorney will also teach a one-hour, seminar-style class each week where students will learn more about the legal issues and skills needed to manage the clinic’s client work.
The Healthcare Justice Clinic furthers Belmont Law’s commitment to pro bono work. Law students frequently undertake field placements at various sites in the health care sector like Nashville General Hospital, Wellpath, Triage Cancer, TennCare, among others. Health care justice issues often intersect with other poverty-related legal issues, so law students will gain broader experiences working at the clinic.
“This grant will allow the College of Law to expand its experiential learning offerings to include a clinic alongside its robust externship offerings,” Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Experiential Learning Kristi Arth said. “Future changes to the bar exam will provide a bigger emphasis on applied legal skills, and Belmont Law’s hybrid clinical offerings demonstrate its commitment to teaching students these skills and maintaining high bar passage rates.”
Currently, Belmont Law offers a Health Law Certificate and the opportunity to work on the Belmont Law Journal, a coalescence of Belmont's Criminal, Entertainment and Health Law Journals. The Healthcare Justice Clinic will serve as another link connecting Belmont to Nashville’s renowned health care market.
“This is a great opportunity for our students who have sought out Belmont and Nashville for its health care connections to expand and grow their knowledge base in this area of the law,” Associate Dean Deborah Farringer said. “TJC’s advocacy provides an amazing resource for the provision of legal services in our community for those who otherwise cannot afford those services. Their reputation in the legal community and across the state gives us confidence that our students will be learning from leaders in the field.”
Speer fellow applications are now open. Recent graduates and alumni are encouraged to apply through the Briefcase platform. Once the Speer fellow is in place, the College of Law and TJC will spend the fall 2024 semester engaged in course planning and caseload management ahead of the clinic's opening to law students in the spring 2025 semester.