For Value Received - Community Law Program Benefits to Law School Students

• NCJ Number: 104216
• Author(s): J L Daly
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-JN-AX-0011; 85-JS-CX-0012
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PAD Monograph Series

Annotation

The law students taking part in the law-related education program in the high schools in St. Paul, Minn., are benefiting in many ways from their participation.

Abstract

The Hamline University law students are paired with regular high school teachers. They spend 3 days and up to 12 hours per week preparing and conducting classes and training students for a mock trial competition. In return, they receive two credits toward their law degrees. Participants report that the program improves their knowledge of the law and helps them synthesize their legal knowledge. It also improves their understanding of the public's perception of lawyers, develops their oral skills and expertise in handling questions, and teaches them to explain the law to lay persons. They also develop a sense of professionalism, a working relationship with another professional functioning as an equal, and skills in providing legal training. Further benefits to the law students are the sense of satisfaction they feel and the opportunity to fulfill their professional obligation to educate the public. Footnotes.