Leeds Law School

Leeds Law School’s Law Clinic

My decision to choose the Law Clinic module in the third year of my Law degree was based upon the fact that I wanted to become a solicitor. When choosing this module, the key criteria that stood out to me was that I would be dealing with real-life clients and giving them legal advice.  One of the main jobs of a solicitor is to meet clients, take their instructions and then produce letters of advice; therefore participating in the Law Clinic module was a no-brainer for me to gain relevant experience. 

Law Clinic

The module enabled me to develop skills in interviewing, researching, advising and drafting. In particular, conducting law clinic interviews really helped me gain confidence when speaking to clients. It also helped me to focus on other important skills such as time management as I was limited to a time limit of 30 minutes for the interview. In addition, I developed skills in note-taking by being able to not only listen to the client but also write down the answers I was given. Each week you are allocated a new client so there is variety on the kind of issues you will face. And all of the clients you meet help strengthen the core skills you study on the Legal Practice Course that I am now enrolled in. Thus, showing that the knowledge gained on the clinic module can be used in other aspects of your career.

All of the skills I developed through the Law Clinic module not only helped my levels confidence but also helped me with other modules on my degree as I learnt about areas of law I had not studied. One such area was Family Law that I had not taken as part of my LLB. Whilst this seemed really tricky at the time, it actually really helped me develop my research skills as I had to investigate a completely new area of law to ensure I was able to correctly advise and feedback to the client. 

Another real positive from the module is that you are partnered with one or two other students to work on any problem. This was helpful because if I was concerned about a client’s issue, I had the support and guidance from my peers; we could work together as a team. Teamwork is another key skill I developed, which is beneficial in both education and the workplace. 

The support and guidance from the tutors was exceptional. The writing process for the letter of advice included creating a draft and then receiving feedback where there was weakness. This helped me to learn how to positively respond to feedback and rapidly improve my skills in drafting and writing. 

All in all, the Law Clinic module at Leeds Beckett was a remarkable experience that I would recommend to anyone. It would be of interest to people seeking a legal career or those who simply want to develop skills that relate to the professional world or work. Personally, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

To find out more information about the Law Clinic or to make an appointment please visit our Leeds Law School Law Clinic webpage

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