“Students get a tremendous range of benefits from this experience,” added Fitzpatrick. “If you’re a first-year, you get a lot of intensive training on how to be an advocate right from the get-go of your law school experience. It’s one of the best ways to learn how to become an advocate, actually representing clients in real adversarial hearings.”

PLAP participants who would be affected by the ruling were also anxious.

“I find it really frustrating that people who are willing and able to help would be kept from doing that,” said first-year Daniel Alban.

The DOC acknowledges that the new rule would make significantly less representation available for inmates. But Latini said that he hoped the schools could adjust.

“I would hope that schools would be able to provide the inmates with representatives,” Latini said. “If part of their program is to assist, that would be part of their program. We can’t set their criteria for them.”