Human Trafficking Law Project

About the Clinic

We serve the unseen and underserved populations most vulnerable to Human Trafficking.

  • The only law school-based program in our area providing direct services to adult victims of sex and labor trafficking.
  • Represent survivors of human trafficking from specialty court dockets such as the Cleveland Municipal Court Fly Court.
  • Provide education and training to lawyers, legislators, service and healthcare providers, law enforcement and the general public regarding human-trafficking issues.
  • Engage in outreach to community centers/social service agencies and public training to identify victims otherwise overlooked in jails, rehabilitation facilities and LGBT specific organizations. We represent not only victims but also those at high risk for victimization.
  • Provide trauma-informed social service referrals.

Human Trafficking Clinic

The Human Trafficking Law Clinic works with community non-profits and local governments to provide free legal services to human trafficking survivors.

The Human Trafficking Clinic focuses on both preventive and curative aspects of the law. Third-year law students enroll in the clinic for a full year. We help those most vulnerable members of the community. Targeted populations for the clinic include  human trafficking survivors, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (+) (LGBT) community, and individuals with mental health and or substance abuse problems. Utilizing a trauma-informed approach while addressing the legal needs of their clients, students focus on interdisciplinary collaborations with both the social work and medical professionals. Student interns represent clients from the human trafficking dockets, referral, and from specific outreach location in specific civil matters ranging from eviction, asylum, name changes, benefits applications, consumer law matter, visitation matters, and fee waivers.

In addition to individual representation, students are engaged in outreach to community centers/social service agencies and public training to identify victims otherwise overlooked in jails, rehabilitation facilities and LGBT specific organizations. We represent not only victims but also those at high risk for victimization.

Our students play a vital role in the clinic’s mission, giving them extensive experience in and exposure to a complex legal environment of national and local issues.

Human Trafficking Lab

Second- and third-year students in The Human Trafficking Practicum will be conducting bi-monthly intake to outreach to survivors of human trafficking and individuals at high risk for human trafficking. The purpose of this practicum will be for students to learn how to: strengthen trauma-informed interview skills; understand social determinants of health and how they impact clients’ access to  justice; access legal and social service options for clients; and strengthen issue-spotting skills.

Targeted outreach/intake populations for the Practicum will include human trafficking survivors, members of the lesbian,  gay, bisexual, transgender (+) (LGBT) community, foreign nationals, individuals with mental health and or substance abuse  problems, and individuals living under 300% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Learning objectives include:

  • Gaining an understanding of different vulnerable populations including: Human trafficking victims, victims of trauma, the LGBT community,  and individuals with substance abuse and/or mental health needs.
  • Understanding the value of interdisciplinary collaboration as demonstrated through interaction and work with social workers, doctors, lawyers, and court professionals.
  • Understanding how to perform quasi-legal and legal-adjacent searches for driver’s license abstracts, docket pulls, credit reports, social security matters, etc.
  • Strengthening Legal Intake Issue Spotting Proficiencies.
  • Understanding social determinants of health and their application to the well-being of individuals.
  • Identify social service needs, referrals, and their applicability to clients with legal issues
  • Understanding some of the fundamental areas of poverty law.

Who We Are

The Human Trafficking Clinic is one of the several clinics under the umbrella of the Milton and Charlotte Kramer Law Clinic, and is primarily staffed by a director, a fellow and third-year law students certified as legal interns by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Potential Client Inquiries

We provide our services free of charge and it is our mission to help those who are in need of our services.

Please email the Law School Clinic or call 216.368.2766 and provide the following information:

If you have a request for legal services:

Name:
General Legal Request (are you involved in a court action now?):
Your phone number:
Times when you are available to speak:

If you have a request for a human-trafficking training or conference at your workplace, church, hospital or other location:

Name:
Name and address of place where the training will take place:
Dates of proposed training:
Your phone number:
Times when you are available to speak:

Law Clinic in the News:

Law Students Provide Hope to Human Trafficking Survivors

Human Trafficking Law Project 

Learn More

For more information about Ohio’s initiatives to combat human trafficking, visit the Human Trafficking Initiative on the Ohio Attorney General's website.