University Legal Services will be training attorneys and attorney/paralegal teams to represent mental healthcare consumers at St. Elizabeths Hospital in administrative grievance hearings. St. Elizabeths Hospital is a mental healthcare facility run by the District of Columbia. The patients there have rights, including the right to be free from unnecessary seclusion and restraint, the right to be free from unnecessary involuntary medication, the right to be free from assault by staff, and the right to be free from neglect. ULS will teach attorneys and paralegals how to protect the rights of mental healthcare consumers through advocacy and in administrative hearings.

For these hearings, attorneys and attorney/paralegal teams can prepare and call witnesses, cross-examine witnesses, and make arguments orally and in writing. However, the time commitment is limited - the hearings themselves last just a few hours. These cases therefore provide an opportunity to gain valuable legal experience with a limited time commitment.