Clinics Update Quarterly Newsletter – February 2026

A Look Back at 2025

American Indian Wills Clinic

Legal Supervisor: Emily Eleftherakis, Administrator: Lori Harless

The American Indian Wills Clinic continued its vital mission of protecting tribal lands and families through comprehensive estate planning services. This year, our students completed 117 estate plans for Native families across 22 tribal nations, ensuring that ancestral lands and cultural legacies remain protected for future generations.

A highlight of the year was our expansion of services directly into rural Tribal communities through overnight service trips, made possible by a generous grant from the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). In partnership with tribal governments and community organizations across Oklahoma, these immersive experiences allowed students to understand the unique legal and cultural considerations involved in estate planning for indigenous communities while providing critical services to families who might otherwise lack access to legal assistance.

Our students learned not only the technical aspects of wills, trusts, and probate law, but also the profound responsibility of serving as advocates for communities whose rights have historically been marginalized.

Oklahoma Innocence Project

Director: Andrea Miller; Project Manager: Patrick Wells; Staff Attorney: Chris Garinger

The Oklahoma Innocence Project achieved significant milestones this year in the fight against wrongful convictions. Our students obtained one exculpatory DNA result—a potential life-changing development for a client who has maintained their innocence. Additionally, we successfully advocated for passage of an improved compensation statute, ensuring that exonerees in Oklahoma receive more adequate support as they rebuild their lives.

With 25 active cases under review, our students are developing critical skills in case investigation, evidence analysis, and appellate advocacy. Our work is strengthened through partnerships with forensic experts, investigative journalists, and advocacy organizations committed to exposing and correcting wrongful convictions.

This work teaches students that the pursuit of justice requires persistence, attention to detail, and unwavering commitment to truth—lessons that will serve them throughout their careers.

Oklahoma Innocence Project client Joshua Criston was recently published in Tall Tales from the Page Turners, a book of short stories written by incarcerated men.

From the book description:

“Who are the Page Turners? Roughly a dozen in number, these men compose as individuals and also through creative collaboration. The freedom they lack as incarcerated writers is no obstacle to the transcendent power of their imaginative vision. They stand tall; they see far; their subject matter spans the globe. They cover a vast range of literary terrain: comedy, fantasy, horror, Western, literary fiction, fable, poetry and song. A tall order? These writers more than fulfill it. OPWAF Editions is proud to present….Tall Tales from the Page Turners!”

Oklahoma Innocence Project Legal Director Andrea Miller was recently featured in an Oklahoma Watch article discussing Joshua Christon’s case.

The book is available for purchase on Amazon.

Tenant Rights Clinic

Director: Jenna Pilcher; Staff Attorney: Victoria Wilson; Clinic Project Manager/Paralegal: Jamie Needham

In a year marked by housing instability across Oklahoma, our Tenant Rights Clinic stood as a powerful advocate for families facing eviction. Students handled over 400 eviction defense cases and served more than 800 individuals, making a tangible difference in keeping families housed during one of the most vulnerable moments in their lives.

Funded by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and in partnership with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, our clinic invested in systemic change by training over 100 caseworkers statewide. This train the trainer model exponentially increases our impact, ensuring that advocates across Oklahoma are equipped to protect tenants’ rights.

Our students learned that housing law is not merely transactional—it is deeply connected to human dignity, children’s educational stability, and community well-being. They witnessed firsthand how skilled legal advocacy can prevent the devastating cascade of consequences that follows eviction.

The Tenant Rights Clinic recently hosted a reception to officially relaunch the housing clinic (formerly known as HELP). TRC staff members, students and valued community partners got together at the law school to connect and celebrate the relaunch. We were happy to be joined by several community partners, including friends from Legal Aid, the Arnall Foundation and Metro Fair Housing Services.

The TRC is doing incredible work in the community, and we’re excited for what’s to come.

HEROES Clinic

Legal Supervisor: Lorenzo Banks; Administrator: Shenice Freeman

Launched in 2025, the HEROES (Helping to Eliminate Re-entry Obstacles to Enhance Stability) Clinic immediately made a profound impact on individuals facing barriers from past justice system involvement. In its inaugural year, the clinic secured over $1 million in fines and fees relief and completed or filed 70 expungements for individuals burdened by criminal records that limited their employment, housing, and educational opportunities.

In partnership with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma and the Diversion Hub, the clinic works closely with Legal Aid on cost dockets in Pottawatomie, Cleveland, and Canadian Counties, led by Ed Wunch at Legal Aid. The clinic focuses on expungement, fine and fee mitigation, and removing obstacles to employment, housing, and education. This relief represents more than financial savings—it represents renewed dignity and opportunity for those working to rebuild their lives after justice system involvement.

The clinic filled a critical gap in services for Oklahoma’s re-entry community and provided our students with meaningful opportunities to advocate for criminal justice reform and second chances.

Collaborative Clinic

Director: Tia Ebarb Matt; Clinic Project Manager/Paralegal: Jamie Needham

The Collaborative Clinic served as a vital resource for Oklahoma’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing 158 small business owners with over 1,300 hours of pro bono legal services. From business formation to intellectual property protection, our students helped entrepreneurs transform their visions into viable enterprises.

This year, students completed 13 trademark and patent filings, protecting the innovations and brands of Oklahoma businesses. As a USPTO-certified clinic and steward of the regional USPTO Pro Bono Patent Program, we partner with the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma to serve entrepreneurs across Arkansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

For our students, this clinic offers exposure to transactional practice, client counseling, and the satisfaction of knowing their work creates jobs, strengthens communities, and contributes to economic development.

The Collaborative Clinic has already registered three trademarks in 2026:

Immigration Clinic

Director: Melissa Lujan

After a period of dormancy, we successfully relaunched our Immigration Clinic in 2025, responding to urgent community need. Our students provided representation to seven individuals in family-based immigration matters and eight individuals facing asylum proceedings, while serving over 50 additional individuals through community partnerships.

Working alongside community-based organizations and legal service providers, our clinic addresses the complex needs of immigrant families navigating an increasingly challenging legal landscape. Immigration law is among the most complex and rapidly changing areas of legal practice. Our students developed skills in federal administrative law, client interviewing across language and cultural barriers, and advocacy in high-stakes proceedings where the outcome determines whether families remain together.

The clinic reinforced the fundamental principle that access to legal representation can mean the difference between safety and danger, between family unity and separation.

Norick Municipal Law Clinic

While the Norick Municipal Law Clinic took a strategic pause in 2025 to build infrastructure and develop partnerships, work continued behind the scenes to design a program that will provide students with unique exposure to municipal law practice. In partnership with the City of Oklahoma City’s Municipal Counselor’s Office, the clinic is positioned to return in 2026 with a strengthened framework for serving municipalities and students alike.

This approach reflects our commitment to sustainability and excellence—ensuring that when the clinic resumes operations, it will provide students with meaningful, well-supervised experiences in local government law.

Looking Ahead

As we look toward 2026, we are excited about continued growth and innovation:

• Expanding the HEROES Clinic to serve additional counties and deepen partnerships with re-entry service providers
• Growing the Immigration Clinic to meet increasing demand for family-based and asylum representation
• Relaunching the Norick Municipal Law Clinic with enhanced partnerships and student opportunities
• Continuing overnight service trips to rural tribal communities through the American Indian Wills Clinic
• Building our community clinic space to bring legal services directly to underserved neighborhoods
• Strengthening partnerships with community organizations, legal aid providers, and entrepreneurial ecosystems across Oklahoma

Contact: For more information about our clinics or to discuss partnership opportunities, please contact:

Tia Ebarb Matt
Director of Experiential Learning
Clinical Professor of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law
Email: tmatt@okcu.edu
Phone: (405) 208-5337