LEGAL CLINIC
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2018/2019
- Teacher
- ORSETTA GIOLO
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
Training objectives
- The course of Legal Clinic aims at providing hands-on-legal experience to law school students. Students will work on real cases, counseling and advising real clients under the supervision of Faculty members and of the attorneys cooperating with the Clinic. The Legal Clinic will provide its pro-bono services to individuals, organizations, and local communities who need qualified legal assistance but who cannot bear the relevant costs. Students will gain practical experience by serving others in areas of great social importance, such as the protection of fundamental rights (with particular attention to the rights of migrants and other persons in need, the right to a fair trial, the right to housing, the right to education and access to social services) and the protection of the environment. In addition to acquiring a thorough understanding of the institutions which are relevant for the solution of the cases submitted to their attention, students will learn the basics of professional ethics and will get acquainted with the main tools for legal research.
Students will develop skills and abilities which are essential, in particular, for the exercise of the legal professions. They will learn:
1) to frame a case within the relevant legal institutions;
2) to conduct thorough legal researches;
3) to identify the most appropriate procedural strategy or to suggest their client, wherever possible, alternative measures;
4) to identify creative solutions for a case;
5) to draft a pleading, a legal opinion, etc.
The Legal Clinic also aims to develop in students a particular sensitivity to the social function of the practice of law. Students attending the Clinic will learn how to “use” the law in order to defend individual rights. Prerequisites
Course programme
- The program is coordinated by the Professor in charge of the course in collaboration with other Faculty members.
A maximum of 32 students will be admitted to the Clinic. They will be divided into four groups, each of which will work on one or several cases, relating to:
A. Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure (mentors: Prof. Ciro Grandi, Prof. Francesco Morelli)
B. Immigration and asylum (mentors: Prof. Alessandra Annoni, Prof. Orsetta Giolo)
C. Labour Law and social security (mentor: Prof. Silvia Borelli)
The course involves a common taught component and a number of separate sessions where each group will meet with the mentors and the attorney in charge of the case.
Common taught component (6 hours):
Rudiments of professional conduct and ethics. Relationship between the client and the lawyer. Legal research tools.
Analysis and solution of the cases (30 hours):
Presentation of the case by the attorney. Identification and presentation of relevant legal institutions. Identification and discussion of possible legal strategies. Identification and discussion of relevant rules and case-law. Analysis and discussion of possible solutions to the case. Drafting of the pleading or legal opinion.
Presentation of the results to the other groups (4 hours):
Presentation of the work done by each group to the other students of the Clinic. Didactic methods
- The Legal Clinic adopts an innovative approach to teaching, following the so called “learning by doing” method, originally developed by Law Schools in the US and subsequently adopted also by Law Faculties in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Students will deal with real cases and solve them, under the supervision of Faculty members and lawyers.
Some of the activities of the Clinic will be carried out at the Department of Law, others may be performed in Law Firms, Judicial Offices, Penitentiaries, Immigration or Taxation Offices. Attendance is compulsory for all students. Learning assessment procedures
- The final mark will be the result of the evaluation of the following aspects of the work of the Clinic: the activity of research and analysis performed by each member of the team, the legal documents drafted by the team and the oral presentation made by the team for the benefit of the other students of the Clinic.
Reference texts
- M.R. Marella, E. Rigo, Cliniche legali, Commons e giustizia sociale, in Parolechiave, 1/2015, p. 181 ff.
F. Carnelutti, Clinica del diritto, in Riv. dir. proc. civ., 1935, p. 169 ff.
Further readings which could be relevant for the solution of the case will be suggested in due course.
