1. Joint initiatives: Using a pro bono teaching clinic to prepare law students for legal practice and promote community service
Dr Francina Cantatore

2. Case study: The Bond Law Clinic

3. A Commercial Law Clinic
Where and when?
Supervision?
Free legal advice to small business, non-profits and entrepreneurs
Is there really a need?

4. Main objectives Promote a sense of community service
Practice-based learning opportunities
Free legal service
Lawyers engage in pro bono activities and mentoring

5. Structure
4 Integral components

6. Clinic procedures Students don’t provide legal advice Lawyers provide
Interview under supervision
Hands-on legal research
Draft legal advice
Lawyers provide
Timely feedback – draft advice
Immediate feedback – interviewing skills
Training: Students and lawyers
Induction
Volunteer handbook

7. Community engagement and employability
Positive benefits for students • experiential learning > real clients and cases • promoting employability > communication skills, ethics & professionalism • promoting social responsibility > community service • networking and mentoring opportunities

8. University run clinics
There are many successful university run law clinics in Australia,eg:
The Kingsford Legal Centre at the University of New South Wales (‘UNSW’), which incorporates a number of different clinical subjects and is run by a staff solicitor.
The South Australian law schools - Flinders University, University of South Australia and University of Adelaide also adopt a similar model involving legal academics who also have legal practice experience and current unrestricted practising certificates to provide legal advice to clients.
The Pro Bono Centre at the University of Queensland (UQ) incorporates a number of different clinics in which students can enrol for academic credit (although the UQ clinic differs from the UNSW and South Australian models as there is no dedicated staff solicitor).

9. CLE v Pro Bono at Bond University
Clinical Legal Education
Pro Bono Programs
Academic credit
Purely voluntary non-reward
Primary motivation - securing gain
Social justice/professional responsibility
Teaching focus
Community service focus
Course fees
No cost
Formal assessment procedures
Informal or no assessment
Specific learning and teaching outcomes
Informal feedback and reflective practices
Targeted pedagogical objectives
Limited pedagogical objectives

10. A hybrid model
Overlap
Community service setting
Creating a pro bono ethos
Partnerships – law firms/ community organisation
Pedagogical outcomes
Pro bono work + learning and teaching outcomes = an optimum practice-based learning experience
Need:
Professional supervision
Specific learning and teaching outcomes

11. Challenges for pro bono teaching clinics

12. Thinking creatively

13. A work in progress
At the Bond Law Clinic – Evidence of success – students, university, lawyers, community But need more work on formulating and implementing T & L outcomes

14. University run clinics - an untapped resource?