Transcript slides

Community, Engagement and Social Justice:
Improving the law student experience through
pro bono placements
PROFESSOR KATHRYN HOLLINGSWORTH
Overview
 Legacare – local NE
charity providing free
legal advice to ppl with
life-threatening illness
 Students undertake
placements over course
of three months
Why the project was established
 Law student demand for pro bono
 Commitment to social justice within context of a
civic university
 Employability
How it worked
 12 students recruited initially following full
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application process
New students taken on in summer; some given two
week full placement
Exposes students to wide range of legal subjects
Involved in research, file preparation and client
interviewing
Innovation fund supported costs to Legacare of the
student placements
Benefits to students
 Putting theory into practice
 Real client contact and interaction
 Knowing the work they do empowers vulnerable clients
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and makes a real difference to the quality of their life
The opportunity to handle a case from start to finish
with strong supervision
Exposure to a variety of legal issues
Strong experience for C.V
Develops holistic skills
Potential for training contract
Opportunity to accrue time to count towards a training
contract
Feedback
 Students were overwhelmingly positive:
 ’I think it is fabulous that LegaCare gives so many
students the opportunity of gaining work
experience.’
 ‘Thank you for an amazing experience’
Feedback
 ‘I was able to transfer my academic knowledge to
very practical, real life situations’
 ‘It has been a really rewarding and challenging
experience’
 ‘My knowledge and experience has been enhanced
tenfold’
Academic development
 Students keen to keep it extra-curricula
and NOT developed into a module:
 Would
detract from the ‘altruistic’ feeling
 Valued the selection process
 More valuable on cv if extra-curricula