NCJ Number
81028
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A professor at the Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota analyzes the benefits the law students have received from their participation in Hamline's project providing law-related education to students in every high school in St. Paul.
Abstract
Hamline law students are paired with teachers of government or law-related courses and spend 3 days per week in assigned classrooms. The law students conduct role plays, simulations, and other classroom exercises to teach the teenagers about the law and its functions. The program operates much like other college laboratory experiences. Students perform required duties for up to 12 hours a week and receive two credits toward law school graduation. Duties include attending a weekly seminar at the law school, doing research, developing teaching strategies, spending conference time planning with the high school teachers, commuting to and from the high school, conducting classes for up to 3 hours per week, planning field trips, and debriefing the high school teachers. The community law program also includes an annual mock trial competition in which the law students must present a fact pattern, train the high school students about the components of a trial, and prepare them for the competition. The law students have found that the program improves their knowledge of State law, synthesizes their knowledge from different areas of the law, and improves their understanding of the public's perception of lawyers. Other benefits have been the improvement of oral skills, development of expertise in handling questions and of skills in lawyer-client relationships, and development of a sense of professionalism. Further benefits have been the development of legal training skills, the chance to educate the public, and personal satisfaction. A few notes are included.