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Posted May 29, 2013

Law Students Given Opportunity to Work with Real Clients

A large shake up of the legal system is underway and it is bringing forth numerous cuts to legal aid due to financial constraints. This change is opening up an opportunity for postgraduate  law students to step in and fill the gap, offering them a chance to get some real life client experience, and providing clients free consultations and representations. This means that law students could play a fundamental role in legal representation in the coming years.

Filling the Void

The University of East Anglia is one institution that has begun to offer a service to the public through its newly opened law clinic. They are now offering a free service to members of the public who have nowhere else to turn, and it is proving to be mutually beneficial to all involved. Pro bono law work from students is by no means a new concept, but this new platform provides a much more organized and structured means of doing so, allowing ordinary members of the public benefit from the developing knowledge of law students. Gareth Thomas is the director of the law clinic at UEA and he says that “the launch of our law clinic has given us a deeper sense of purpose. From Street Law to the Innocence Project UK, Shelter to the British Red Cross Humanitarian Law project, we are teaching, learning, and working for the public good, and pretty much everything we do is student led.”

As part of the ongoing work at the law clinic, students are involved with interviewing new clients, running cases from start to finish, and even representing clients at a tribunal. The benefits of this real time experience for the law students is invaluable as it allows them to graduate with actual work experience of handling live cases, and this will stand anyone in good stead when looking for work. It is not a simple exercise for the sake of learning, but a valuable contribution to society and individual lives at the same time.
 

Law Student Movement

The pro bono law student movement is growing in momentum, and is something that is definitely going to play a bigger role in the future. The LawWorks and Attorney General Student Awards 2013 were a celebration of the work done by students, and it proved to be a very exciting event for all involved, recognizing the contribution that their work has made to local communities.
 

2 comments

Diaoune Alpha Mamoudou Aug. 31, 2018, 12:42 a.m.

I would like to submit for this degree to learn about Master in law and proving myself in my country.

Charlotte King Sept. 3, 2018, 9:25 p.m.

Hi Diaoune - our sister site LLMstudy.com has plenty of information and advice about studying an LLM program. Take a look - and good luck.

https://www.llmstudy.com/

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