Community Law Center Clinic II

Catalog description

Students in the LUCLC represent children in contested guardianship cases and clients in civil cases involving landlord/tenant, family and elder law problems. Many of LUCLC's clients are low income persons. Serving persons who cannot afford legal services sensitizes students to the special ways that the law affects the lives of the indigent. Another important aspect of the LUCLC course is the opportunity for students to develop their own sense of the lawyer's professional role. Students experience the complexity of the attorney-client relationship and the myriad ethical dimensions of lawyering. Students are exposed for the first time to the conflicts, frustrations and rewards inherent in legal practice. Enrollment in the Community Law Center Clinic course also helps students prepare for the performance tests that have been added to many state bar examinations, including Illinois. The skills that these performance tests measure are the same skills that students learn through their client representation. The Community Law Center Clinic course is an excellent bridge from the law school classroom to the law office. It allows students to begin to learn how to practice law in a reflective environment.