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Trinity Law School Clinics provide free legal services to the community while giving students the opportunity to put their classroom skills to work. Students are eligible to participate in the legal clinics upon completion or concurrent enrollment of 30 units. If you are looking for legal services or have questions about our clinics, please contact Joy Statler at jstatler[at]tiu.edu.

Trinity Law Clinic

This clinic is located on the grounds of the Orange County Rescue Mission, a transitional living facility for homeless individuals and families. Trinity students provide pro bono services to help residents with a variety of legal issues so that they can start their new life with a clean slate.

Trinity Law Clinic at Orange County Rescue Mission

The Clinic’s mission at Orange County Rescue Mission (OCRM) is to serve the legal needs of the residents at the Village of Hope and the homeless population of the greater Orange County area.

Jim Palmer
President of Orange County Rescue Mission

“Trinity Law School is a wonderful example of an educational institution that is not just handing out degrees, but calling their students to provide a helping hand to the least, the last, and the lost of our community.”
— Jim Palmer

Serving the Homeless
The Clinic’s mission at OCRM is to serve the legal needs of the residents at the Village of Hope. In addition, the Clinic serves the legal needs of the homeless population of the greater Orange County area through its mobile legal clinic. The Trinity Mobile Legal Clinic (see left) has a unique feature in that it is able to go directly to the marginalized of Orange County. On nearly every Thursday, this Clinic frequents a parking lot facility in the Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana, CA where it administers legal aid/advice to those in need.

Mobile Legal Clinic

As part of our partnership with the Orange County Rescue Mission, we offer opportunities for students to volunteer in our “law office on wheels” that offers walk-up services to all low-income and homeless residents of Orange County.

Religious Liberty Clinic

The Orange County office of Pacific Justice Institute, a non-profit organization that provides legal services in religious freedom cases, is located on our campus. Students who serve in the Religious Liberty Clinic at the Pacific Justice Institute benefit from this close partnership by conducting research and writing a wide variety of trial and appellate level documents, including amicus briefs, for current cases.

Religious Liberty Clinic at Pacific Justice Institute

Our mission is to defend (without charge) the religious freedoms, parental rights, and other civil liberties of people who cannot defend themselves.

Michael Peffer
Senior Counsel for Pacific Justice Institute & Trinity Law School professor

Corona Street Case
One of the most common categories of cases PJI handles involves street preachers who are being harassed by local governments, sometimes even being arrested, notwithstanding First Amendment speech rights. In this case, PJI is representing a man who was given a ticket for open-air preaching.

Professor Fired For His Faith
Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) secured a legal victory for Eric Thompson, a sociology professor at Moreno Valley College, who was fired for his discussions of “dangerous” conservative worldviews in his college classroom. PJI represented the professor in depositions, administrative hearings, and a multi-day arbitration conducted like a trial. The arbitrator, who found many of the claims against the tenured professor were unfounded, ruled in Thompson’s favor.

Mediation Clinic

Our mediation clinic operates in conjunction with the Orange County Superior Court and Orange County Human Relations. Students act as a neutral party to help facilitate resolutions between parties. The prerequisite courses for this clinic qualify you to work as a mediator in various California courts before obtaining your J.D.

Bankruptcy Clinic

California residents filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy receive legal support from a practicing bankruptcy attorney while students assist with problem solving and preparation.