Initiative for social action and renewal in eurasia third sector news information bulletin

Legal Clinics Make a Difference

By Elmira Abdullayeva

ISAR-Azerbaijan

What is a legal clinic and what is legal education?  These questions were the topics of discussion

at a meeting, which was held on September 18 at the ISAR-Azerbaijan office. Bob Bolton from

the American Bar Association (ABA) was the speaker at the meeting, attended by a number of

the directors of NGOs working in the field of legal education and human rights.

As Bob Bolton explained, the first legal clinics appeared in the United States in the 1920s and

30s.  They were based on the model of medical clinics—they provided law students with the

opportunity to gain practical skills working with clients, providing them with legal assistance.

The development of legal clinic education in the US got a second wind toward the end of the

1950s when various foundations began to support clinics focused on two main issues: providing

legal services and helping law students develop skills.  This method of training is very similar  to

intern programs at US medical schools, but with one major difference—for medical students , the

internship period is obligatory, while for law students, the internship remains optional.  In reality,

these clinics fill the role of giving students experience even before they graduate and become

lawyers.  In Azerbaijan, legal clinics function under the auspices of Khazar and Azerbaijan

Universities, both private institutions.

“I think that clinical education allows students to approach their work more creatively, to see the

value of their work as a mechanism to solve conflict,” stated Bolton.  Meeting participants all

agreed that legal clinics help students become more aware of legal practice, and increase their

base of legal knowledge.  Students in their final year of undergraduate students as well as

master’s students can intern at legal clinics.  According to Bolton, the value of legal clinics is that

while the student himself is learning, he is helping others who do not have the means to hire a

lawyer or get legal advice elsewhere.

During the, meeting, local NGO representatives expressed their opinions about legal clinics in

Azerbaijan.  For example, according to Chingiz Ganiev, head of the Committee for the Protection

of Democracy and Human Rights, it would be good if such clinics could be established not only

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under the auspices of universities, but also under the oversight of local human rights

organizations.