The following are UNL Divisions and Projects that seek to partner with or have resources for Nebraska Communities. See where these groups are impacting Nebraska in our Engagement and Outreach Map. For edits or suggestions, please contact Jentry Barrett at jbarrett3@unl.edu.
Criminal Clinic
College of Law
The Nebraska Law Criminal Clinic is one of the few prosecution clinics in the country. Students spend the semester working at the local prosecutor’s office where they prosecute misdemeanor and low-grade felony cases – from initial charging decisions to ultimate case resolution – under the direct supervision of the faculty instructor.
Debtor Defense Clinic
College of Law
Students in the Debtor Defense Clinic (DDC) work with unrepresented individuals who have had judgments entered against them in collection cases. Students provide counsel and legal advice to clients about debt collection issues, and, when necessary, litigating cases involving legal issues that have been identified to benefit from a full and robust presentation to the court.
Estate Planning Clinic
College of Law
Students, under faculty supervision, represent clients in estate planning and estate planning document drafting. They may also participate in a Rural Estate Planning Clinic, an off-site program where students work with senior citizens in out-state Nebraska in drafting their estate planning documents.
First Amendment Clinic
College of Law
The First Amendment Clinic at the University of Nebraska College of Law supports First Amendment rights by focusing on local and regional cases concerning freedoms of speech, the press, assembly, and petition. It also enhances law students' understanding of the First Amendment and serves as a resource for organizations, students, journalists, and citizens defending First Amendment rights.
Housing Justice Clinic
College of Law
As part of the Housing Justice Program, students in the Housing Justice Clinic will gain experience resolving landlord-tenant issues. Students will regularly appear in court representing individuals and families facing eviction.
Immigration Clinic
College of Law
The Immigration Clinic provides students with an intensive, year-long experience working in-depth on immigration cases on behalf of low-income clients. Under the supervision of the faculty instructor, students may work on family-based immigrant cases, deportation defense, asylum cases, Special Immigrant Juvenile visa cases, and other like matters.
Reflective Practice FAN Training Program
College of Arts and Sciences
The Nebraska Center on Reflective Practice (NCRP) is part of the UNL-Center for Children, Families and the Law. This training will help professionals enhance their capacity to respond to others and communicate based on developmental principles and personal reflection.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
College of Law
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, provided by our College of Law, provides income tax preparation assistance to individuals at lower income levels. Assessments include the number of returns processed, dollar amount of refunds, and earned income tax credit returned to low-income families, and according to those criteria the VITA program shows increased results annually. However, analysis of customer demographics and documentation of unmet demand showed that local Hispanic and Latino identified communities were underrepresented among clients who received services. By partnering with a Spanish translation service-learning course project, we greatly expanded VITA services to Spanish speakers in the community. Now we are expanding that program to other languages common in the region.
Weibling Entrepreneurship Clinic
College of Law
Under the supervision of the faculty instructor, students in the Weibling Entrepreneurship Clinic handle a variety of early-stage legal matters for start-up businesses throughout the state, including entity formation, contract drafting and review, intellectual property protection, regulatory, compliance and other transactional legal matters.