Syracuse University College of Law is adding the Syracuse Medical Legal Partnership (SLMP) to its Office of Clinical Legal Education starting with the Spring 2025 semester.
SMLP is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the pediatric unit at SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse Law.
Suzette Meléndez, professor at Syracuse Law and co-director of the clinic, said the main goal of the SMLP is to educate law students about the role lawyers can play in positively affecting the lives of children that are facing significant medical and sociological obstacles.
“We hope to educate medical and social work professionals in how to best work with legal representation to deliver the best outcomes to patients,” Meléndez said.
The SMLP combines a clinical offering and the Child Health Policy and Legal Practice course for students interested in developing legal skills and policy analysis in children’s health.
Students will provide non-litigation legal services (intake, advice, research and referrals) for a busy pediatric clinic in Syracuse around legal issues that impact healthcare access and outcomes. This may include children’s access to education, safe housing, medical equipment, family court issues, government aid programs, transition-age youth and more. Special populations served by SMLP will be patients who have complex medical needs and patients who are aging out of pediatric health care and social services and need to preserve their legal rights.
Terence Lau, dean of Syracuse Law, said the SLMP is a unique approach to bridge the legal and sociological gap among a vulnerable population that is often faced with navigating the complicated systems during a crisis.
“Syracuse Law students will gain critical skills such as interviewing clients and researching legal and policy solutions that are invaluable to their legal careers,” Lau said.
Through this partnership, patients receive critical legal assistance while professionals learn about using community resources and employing cooperative strategies to benefit patients and clients in their practices.
The clinic works to achieve systemic change through the multidisciplinary education of law students, medical students, residents and other professionals. Doctors and lawyers will learn to work collaboratively to attain favorable outcomes for patients. It provides legal advocacy to improve the overall health and well-being of vulnerable patient populations.
Students can register for the clinic when they select classes for the Spring 2025 semester.
Students enrolled in the SMLP must be co-enrolled in Child Health Policy and Legal Practice as the classroom component of this experiential course.
Meléndez will be the co-director of the new clinic along with Dr. Steven Blatt of Upstate University Hospital and Professor Sarah Reckess of Upstate Medical University.
The Syracuse Law now offers students the opportunity to participate in eight clinics: Bankruptcy, Betty & Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, Criminal Defense, Disability Rights, Housing, Sherman F. Levey ’57, L’59 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Syracuse Legal Medical Partnership and Transactional Law.
