LAW589
Low Income Individuals & the Law
(Weaver)
Prerequisite courses:
Prerequisite for:
Instructor(s): Katherine Weaver
Course credit: 9 credits over both Fall and Winter Terms (equivalent to 3 courses)
Method of presentation: Two terms of clinical placement; Winter Term seminar
Teamwork:
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Clinical component (Fall Term - pass/fail; Winter Term – pass/fail):
participation in the mandatory four day (25-30 hour) pre-clinical orientation and training program in September
mandatory participation in four or five one-and-a-half-hour group sessions for students’ debriefing and for additional teaching with respect to journaling, interviewing, professional responsibility, and other topics (September, October, November, and December)
completion of 98 clinical hours per term (total 196 hours), as scheduled in consultation between students and individual placement coordinators; pass/fail is based upon a learning plan developed in collaboration with placement coordinators and self/placement evaluations
clinical law experiential journal; pass/fail based on weekly journal entries with a pass meeting the minimum standard as set in the clinical Orientation program
Seminar Component (Winter Term - graded):
attendance at and participation in the three-hour seminar every week
individual mandatory meeting with the Instructor, in January
individual research paper on seminar topic
team preparation and presentation of student-led seminar topics
continuation of reflective journal, now incorporating theoretical/substantive topics covered during the Winter Term
end-of-term group exercise applying theories, research, and principles covered during the Winter Term to a defined poverty law service scenario
evaluation will be allocated as follows:
45% for research paper and seminar presentation on the paper;
30% for journal; and
25% for group exercise and individual participation.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course consists of four parts:
1. pre-clinical Orientation;
2. Fall Term clinical placement and group meetings (3 credits);
3. Winter Term clinical placement (3 credits); and
4. Winter Term weekly, three-hour seminar (3 credits).
These components are designed to provide substantive and procedural information necessary to:
commence clinical placements in Edmonton, with the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta, the Edmonton Community Legal Centre, Legal Aid Alberta, or the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights;
develop some of the skills necessary in the practice of law, particularly as it applies to low-income individuals and other marginalized groups;
connect case work, advocacy, preventative/systemic legal services, and other forms of experiential learning with substantive and theoretical knowledge of legal issues faced by low-income individuals;
encourage professional responsibility; and
share information necessary for a critical understanding of the social, economic, and cultural context of law and legal service delivery to low-income and marginalized persons and communities.
SPECIAL COMMENTS
An information session on this course will be held in mid-March. Students will be selected for this course through an application and interview process. Priority will be given to students who have some previous experience working with low-income communities or other marginalized groups in a service capacity, which may include Student Legal Services or other volunteer or paid work.
Applicants will be required to submit, by April 25, their resume and a letter of intent outlining their experience and how it has prepared them for the program. Interviews for selected applicants will be held on May 13 and, possibly, on May 14. Selected applicants may undergo two interviews: the first with the program instructor; and a second interview with a placement agency to assess fit with the agency. Selections will be made in May, so that students can make alternative arrangements if they are not selected for this course. Students should register for nine credits in other courses and then drop those courses if admitted to this course.
We will also maintain a waiting list of students in the event a student drops from the course. Course registration will occur once the interview process is complete. For further information contact kweaver@ualberta.ca.
Description updated 2025-26. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.
REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY)
None