The C. Boyden Gray Center, under the direction of Co-Directors Professor Jennifer L. Mascott and scholar Adam White, established the Separation of Powers Clinic for students at the Scalia Law School of George Mason University.
Trent McCotter serves as Director of Clinical and Academic Programs at the Gray Center as well as director of the clinic, which operates under the supervision of Professor Mascott who teaches substantive courses in constitutional law, separation of powers, federal courts, and administrative law at the law school.
The clinic provides practical instruction to students studying separation of powers issues within the federal government as well as structural constitutional principles that apply to the division of authority between the federal and state governments. Students also have the opportunity to participate closely in practical projects related to the study of constitutional questions that form the backbone of the Gray Center’s mission to foster significant legal scholarship examining the role of administrative agencies and the division of power within the three branches of the federal government. Students participating in the clinic course will gain practical legal experience by identifying cases of interest, researching legal issues, and helping to prepare drafts of appellate briefs.
In December 2021, the clinic submitted its inaugural filing, an amicus curiae brief in Egbert v. Boule, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 8, 2022; the petitioner in the case was represented by the Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation practice group of Williams & Connolly.