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In respect of the educational aspect, the Legal Process course is a final year elective course and the student advisors are exposed, under close supervision by qualified attorneys, to live-client, in-house clinical legal education. The “learn-by-doing” and “individual critique” method of instruction at the clinic gives students a critical frame of reference by which they can effectively evaluate their own work as well as the work of others. Students type the initial draft and email it to a secretary, who prints out the first draft for the student’s supervisor to peruse and make corrections. The supervisor at a later stage discusses the draft with the student. The student then retypes the document, where after the final draft is signed by the supervising attorney. The latter procedure has been adopted to facilitate learning and mentoring and to ensure that professional standards are maintained. The Law Clinic seeks to acquaint students with the social legal problems of our indigent clientele and to instil in them a sense of social responsibility, thus ultimately producing a better-quality graduate.
Furthermore, in ensuring that we produce a confident and well-trained graduate, the Legal Process course hosts a mock trial assessment, towards the end of the second semester. Students work in a team consisting of three members and each team is placed in either a civil or a criminal trial. Where a team is placed in a civil trial, the team represents either the Plaintiff or the Defendant. Where a team was placed in a criminal trial, the team represents either the State or the Accused. The trials are conducted in the Clinic Moot Court and/or the Kader Asmal Moot Court and senior attorneys, advocates and magistrates currently in practice preside over the proceedings.
It has been pointed out that the legal services offered by our office forms a vital part of the CLE and thus of service learning for law students. Apart from the opportunity of “practicing law”, the Law Clinic experience also exposes students to practicing the law within the context of diverse racial and cultural groups, and students are encouraged to develop a critical approach towards the role of the law and of lawyers in upholding human rights and achieving justice for all. A copy of the module course outline is attached hereto, marked Annexure ‘LC1’.
process 401 course outline 2020.doc
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