Clinics Update Quarterly Newsletter – July 2026

Note from the Director

This has been a semester defined by impact. Across our clinical programs, our students and supervising faculty have shown up for our community in ways that go far beyond the classroom, taking on real matters for real clients and learning what it means to practice law with purpose.

What ties all of this together is a simple idea: meet people where they are. Whether that is a pop-up table at Innovation Hall, a drop-in session at a local organization, or traveling out to tribal communities, our students are learning that great lawyering starts with showing up. I could not be prouder of what this community has built this semester, and I am excited for what comes next.

Tia Ebarb Matt
Director of Experiential Learning
Clinical Professor of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law

American Indian Wills Clinic

Legal Supervisor: Chloe Moyer; Administrator: Lori Harless

The American Indian Wills Clinic had an outstanding semester, serving 32 clients across Cheyenne and Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, Kickapoo, and other tribal communities. Student attorneys drafted and executed wills for every single client served, along with 30 additional estate planning documents such as powers of attorney, advance directives, and transfer-on-death deeds. This work directly addressed 334 fractionated land interests across more than 1,400 acres, helping families consolidate ownership, avoid further fractionation, and pass land down clearly to the next generation. It is meaningful, generational work, and our students left this semester with real experience in one of the most complex and consequential areas of Indian law.

Oklahoma Innocence Project

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

This fall, the Oklahoma Innocence Project is celebrating its 15th anniversary! This special milestone will be marked with a celebration at OCU Law in August. This special evening will honor OKIP’s past, celebrate the lives they’ve impacted, and look ahead to the future of justice in Oklahoma. We invite you to celebrate with us!

More information can be found here.

Support OKIP with a donation

Tenant Rights Clinic

Co-Directors: Jenna Pilcher and Victoria Wilson

Households assisted by TRC students in the spring semester

Clients are saying:

I don’t even know where to begin. The issue we were having with our landlord was beyond stressful, refusing to fix a home with heat in the bedrooms and wanted to charge crazy amount to break the lease and our lawyer Jenna handled everything with our landlord. She took literally all the stress away, listened to us and saw the issue and helped us avoid eviction and paying insane amount of fees. If it wasn’t for the clinic and her diligent work, we’d be facing eviction and more. She also explained everything to us so clearly that I knew exactly what was going on every step of the way. They are very honest and transparent and work hard.

I love Victoria. I believe she will go really far with how much care she puts into her work. I was probably very annoying and she was just so amazing and did not make me feel less than and never got mad at me.

HEROES Clinic

Legal Supervisor: Lorenzo Banks; Administrator: Shenice Freeman

Collaborative Clinic

Director: Tia Ebarb Matt

The Collaborative Clinic had an active semester, serving 70 clients across both traditional clinic hours and our new drop-in sessions at the Verge, Innovation Hall, and Project 3810. These drop-in clinics extended our reach into the community, meeting entrepreneurs and innovators where they work. On the trademark side, the clinic filed 11 trademark applications and secured 14 registrations for clients this semester.

Immigration Clinic

Legal Supervisor: Melissa Lujan

The Immigration Clinic had a busy and impactful semester. Student attorneys filed a green card application for a Venezuelan refugee and nine green card applications on behalf of a single Afghan refugee family, helping reunite and stabilize families navigating complex immigration processes.

The clinic also partnered with Latitude to host four Saturday legal clinics, helping families assess their basic legal needs and connecting them with resources to find services or represent themselves. These clinics typically drew 20-40 attendees, with our students working directly with 5-10 families at each session alongside other volunteer attorneys.

Additionally, the clinic submitted a U visa request for victim-based services with the Logan County DA’s office. Work also continued this semester on other matters still in progress, including an asylum case for a family from Afghanistan.

Looking Ahead

We are excited to close this semester by looking forward to what’s next. This fall, we launch our new ICWA Appellate Clinic, extending our commitment to Indian Country into appellate advocacy and giving students a rare opportunity to work on cases that shape the future of the Indian Child Welfare Act. It is a natural next step for a program already deeply rooted in service to tribal communities.

We are also thrilled to share that the HEROES Clinic is poised for expansion, with new funding on the horizon that will allow us to grow our capacity to serve clients seeking a fresh start. This means more students trained, more clients served, and more barriers removed for the people who need it most.

As always, none of this is possible without the dedication of our faculty, staff, and students, and the continued support of our community partners. We cannot wait to share these milestones with you as they unfold.

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