Northumbria- A case study

 Open to the public  Works like a lawyer’s office

 A large clinic – 173 students  Well established – over 30 years  Full casework model cases per annum  £205,000 last year  Range of legal areas

Employment Housing Consumer Family Welfare Benefits Human rights Crime and miscarriages of justice Civil Prison law Charities Business advice environmental

 Compulsory  Graded  40% of the students’ final year

 Key learning outcomes of the law degree programme are delivered through the office  Oral communication and Interviewing  Problem solving  Practical Legal Research  Legal Writing and Drafting  Autonomy  Team work  Reflective practice and lifelong learning  Professional training requirements  The ability to critically analyse the law

 Year 2 – Interviewing experience, problem based learning, legal drafting  Year 3 – simulated file management, interviewing, problem based learning  Providing clinical education to other students not on the main undergraduate programme

 All staff are on academic contracts  Half of those who staff the clinic have other academic teaching duties in the school  Non-clinicans are quite often called upon for expertise

Journal Conference (Durham th July 2012) Research

 Identify a source of income  Appoint a clinic director. Credit that director with workload. Don’t underestimate the scale of their task  Ensure the clinic director has access to the decision maker(s) in the faculty  Decide the role of students/other faculty in making decisions about the clinic  Ensure the clinic is appropriately supervised by qualified staff

 Not for profit advice agencies  Government legal aid agencies  Individual lawyers pro bono  Individual law firms pro bono  Professional Bodies

 Advice and referral only?  Open to members of the university only?  Limited areas of law?  Limited inherent risk in cases? – high value? Emergencies? Short time limits?  When will you be open?  What happens in university holidays? Have you sufficient cover in the event of illness/absence ?

 Admin support – paid/student?  Space to work  Space to meet  Space to interview  Filing  Paper  Post  library  IT  Insurance

confidentiality- , data storage, who sees client files money laundering, fraud- identity checks Client Complaints Supervision of work Disability and discrimination Conflict checks

risks In the office Student/staff external visits Contingency plans for catastrophe

Educate and involve the law faculty Make the pedagogic case for clinic Try to ensure core income is assured ( from the university?) Build research capacity-develop reputation Place clinic at the heart of the learning experience Get policy makers on side Educate and involve the law faculty Make the pedagogic case for clinic Try to ensure core income is assured ( from the university?) Build research capacity-develop reputation Place clinic at the heart of the learning experience Get policy makers on side Get the profession on side Better new lawyers for them Corporate social responsibility? Get the profession on side Better new lawyers for them Corporate social responsibility? Use the clinic to attract new students Prepare the students Involve the students? Use the clinic to attract new students Prepare the students Involve the students? University,faculty and academic community profession Public students Awards, publications General Publicity – tv, newspapers, internet Top tips for sustaining an in-house clinic

Educate and involve the law faculty Make the pedagogic case for clinic Try to ensure core income is assured ( from the university?) Build research capacity-develop reputation Place clinic at the heart of the learning experience Get policy makers on side Educate and involve the law faculty Make the pedagogic case for clinic Try to ensure core income is assured ( from the university?) Build research capacity-develop reputation Place clinic at the heart of the learning experience Get policy makers on side University,faculty and academic community

Use the clinic to attract new students Prepare the students Involve the students in management? Use the clinic to attract new students Prepare the students Involve the students in management? students Top tips for sustaining an in-house clinic

Awards, publications General Publicity – tv, newspapers, internet Awards, publications General Publicity – tv, newspapers, internet Public

Get the profession on side Better new lawyers for them Corporate social responsibility? Get the profession on side Better new lawyers for them Corporate social responsibility? profession

Northumbria’s experience of going beyond the in-house full case model

 Approx 40 students  For students on other programmes  Voluntary  Not assessed

 Joint clinic project with local law firm ◦ Drop in advice ◦ Some supervision provided by the law firm ◦ Some provided by clinic staff ◦ Includes referral system

Benefits for law firm  Increase client base  Preview students as potential trainees  Publicity  Fulfil corporate responsibility Benefits for clinic/students  Contact with local profession  Expose students to law office  Intense learning experience

 Insurance  Supervision  Admin support needed  Clinic staff time

 Shelter advice worker to enquiry to Student Law Office  Enquiry passed via supervisor to student to prepare draft practical legal research, and advice letter for supervisor within 2 weeks  Supervisor to amend these to be sent back to Shelter within deadline of 3 weeks

 Discipline working within tight deadlines  Developed skills – research and written communications, time management  Gave comparative experience of clinical work- but reflective aspect to be developed further  Wide range of housing enquiries

 Student volunteers  Trained by CAB to carry out ‘gateway advice’- a form of triage  Supervised entirely by CAB staff  CAB qualification at the end

 Compulsory (and assessed) or voluntary?  Who takes ownership- and responsibility?  Any admin support needed?  Safeguarding your reputation for excellence  Protecting the interests of students...