Rule 73-3-201 through 211 of the Mississippi Code allows law students to practice before Mississippi courts on a limited basis.
Eligibility
Eligible law students are regularly enrolled in a law school in Mississippi.
Legal Internship Program. If enrolled and assigned in a legal internship program, the law student must have completed two-thirds of the required number of hours for graduation. A “legal internship program” is a program or course for academic credit that is established by a law school of Mississippi and directed or generally supervised by a member of the faculty or staff of the school in which law students are assigned to work under a supervising attorney.
Supervising attorneys are licensed to practice law in Mississippi and are public officials who have actively practiced more than three years in public offices, agencies, departments, public defender offices, or in non-profit or publicly funded legal services or agencies.
Clinical Education Course. If enrolled in a clinical legal education course, the law student must have completed one-half of the required number of hours for graduation. A “clinical legal education course” means a course for academic credit that is established by a law school in Mississippi where law students assist a clinical teacher in providing legal services to clients under the direct and regular personal supervision of the clinical teacher. A “clinical teacher” means a member of the faculty or staff of a law school in Mississippi who teaches and supervises law students in a clinical legal education course and is licensed to practice law in Mississippi.
Practice
Law students cannot directly represent clients and may only assist the supervising attorney or clinical teacher in representing their clients. The supervising attorney or clinical teacher must sign all pleadings and entries of record.
Law students may appear and participate in trials and hearings in courts if the supervising attorney or clinical teacher is present and supervising the student. Law students assigned as interns to prosecuting attorneys may assist the supervising attorney before grand juries under the same prohibitions and penalties regarding disclosure and secrecy as are members of the grand jury.
Law students cannot receive compensation but may be reimbursed for actual expenses, and they are subject to the same standards as licensed attorneys regarding the rules of professional conduct, ethics, and discipline.
The authority to practice continues during any regular school term in which the student is enrolled, including the breaks between terms.
Application
Law students must petition the court and take the oath in order to be admitted to the limited practice by order of a judge where the student will practice. The oath is included in the rules.
Termination
The court may revoke the authority to practice for good cause.