1. Alan Russell Dr John Russell LSBU Legal Advice Clinic Directors
Clinical Legal Education – Running drop-in advice services in an university setting
Alan Russell
Dr John Russell
LSBU Legal Advice Clinic Directors

2. BACKGROUND
Broad acknowledgement that clinical legal education enhances:
Practical legal knowledge
Understanding of client care and legal ethics
Transferable skills
Employability

3. THE LETTER OF ADVICE MODEL
No public drop in service
Clinic administrator fields telephone enquiries
Supervising solicitor decides if case suitable and has educational benefit
Students tasked with researching enquiry and producing letter of advice
Advice letter reviewed several times by supervising solicitor before being sent out to the client.
3 weeks from initial contact to advice letter

4. LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK
Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2004
Southwark ranked 17th most deprived area of 354 local authorities and districts
Based on an overall measure of deprivation (aggregating income, employment, heath and disability, education skills and training, barriers to housing and services, living environment and crime).

5. LSBU LEGAL ADVICE CLINIC
A free face-to-face drop-in community legal advice centre staffed by students working under supervision of practising solicitors
Opened to the public September 2011
195 enquiries dealt with in first 9 months of operation

6. THE CLINIC SERVICE Drop in Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons
Extending drop in to Tuesday afternoons next academic year

7. THE CLINIC SERVICE
Working in pairs, trained students interview drop-in clients and, under supervision:
Provide information on any topic
Give generalist advice on social welfare law
Signpost and refer to appropriate local advice agencies and legal services
Or refer to the Clinic’s own evening sessions

10. THE CLINIC SERVICE
At the Clinic’s evening sessions, Student Volunteers shadow pro bono solicitors & barristers giving specialist legal advice in housing, family, employment, personal injury and long leasehold matters

11. Students taking control
PROGRESSION
Modelling
Collaborating
Students taking control

12. BENEFIT TO STUDENTS In at the deep end – first point of contact
Translating client concerns into legally recognisable categories
Developing interview skills
Developing practical legal knowledge
Developing understanding of client care
Developing writing skills – the advice record

13. BENEFIT TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Helping to meet unmet legal advice need
Free high quality legal advice and appropriate signposting and referral

14. PROBLEMS FACED Staffing resources
Expanding the cohort from 20 to 35 students
Equal opps merit-based appointment
Risk assessment and security

15. HEA GRANT & CONFERENCE
Teaching and learning resources – developing operational manual for dissemination nationwide by LawWorks
Clinical Legal Education conference on ‘Form and Funding’ at LSBU in Feb 2013