(Your institution)’s Legal Advice Centre
Student Advisor Handbook
2006 Edition
Please note: this Handbook can be reproduced or amended by your institution providing the acknowledgement in paragraph 4 on page 5 is retained in full.
November 2006
CONTENTS
Page
Welcome to (your institution)’s Legal Advice Centre 5
Introducing Clinical Legal Education 6
How the Centre works 7 - 9
The Client 10
Our Standards 11
Your Centre 12 – 13
Your Participation 14 – 15
The Interview 16 – 19
The Advice 20 – 21
Record Keeping 22 – 25
Office Facilities & Procedures 26 – 28
Professional & Ethical Matters 29 – 30
Confidentiality 31
Learning Through Doing 32-33
A Final Word 34
APPENDICES
Appendix A – Summary of basic rules for Advice Centre
Student Advisors 35 - 38
Appendix B – A Guide to Professional Practice 39 - 46
Appendix C – Legal Advice Centre Forms and Letters 47
FORMS & INSTRUCTIONS
Student Advisor Contract 48 - 53
Information for Clients Form 54 - 56
Client Details Form 57
Authority Form 58
Authority to the Legal Services Commission to Audit File Form 58
File Summary Form 59
Attendance Form 60
Receipt of Documents Form 61
Acknowledgement of Return of Documents Form 61
Research/ Task Record 62
File Closure Sheet 63
Questionnaire for Clients 64 - 66
Student Experience Evaluation Form 67 - 69
Supervisor Quality Evaluation Form 70 - 71
LETTERS
Post-Interview Letter 72
Advice to Client Letter 73
General Letter to Third Parties 74
File Closure Letter 75
Welcome to (your institution)’s Legal Advice Centre
(Your institution)’s Legal Advice Centre (the Centre) delivers pro bono legal services. Students at (your institution) have the opportunity to take part in hands-on legal work for the benefit of the wider community.
The Centre gives free legal advice to members of the public. This service is provided by (your institution)’s students under the supervision of professionally-qualified members of staff. This Handbook will guide you through the experience of working and learning in the Centre. The Handbook describes the Centre’s professional standards, working practices and rôle in your studies.
We hope that you will find it useful. You should have it to hand at all times when you are involved in Centre work.
The original version of this Handbook (1999) was prepared with the kind assistance of the staff at the Law Clinic at Sheffield Hallam University. The final version was compiled by The College of Law, the help of which is gratefully acknowledged.
INTRODUCING CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION
· What is the rôle of the Legal Advice Centre in my legal education?
The Legal Advice Centre is mainly a vehicle for the study of law and of practice. Although the Centre provides a useful service to the community, it is primarily about putting theory into practice, whilst allowing you time to reflect on your experience. It allows you a valuable opportunity to see how a case progresses in practice and how the skills that you will learn on the LPC come together in the context of one client file.
· How will I learn from the experience?
There are three principal ways in which you should learn from this clinical experience:
· working on a real client case;
· discussion at your follow-up meetings; and
· evaluating your experiences.
· What skills will I use?
Depending on the case, you will use some or all of the following skills:
· interviewing;
· factual analysis, i.e. problem-solving;
· legal research;
· letter-writing; and
· negotiation and advocacy.
You will also have the opportunity to develop your office and administrative skills, your team-working skills and your ability to manage your time. In addition, you should become familiar with the ethical and professional issues relevant to legal practice.
HOW THE CENTRE WORKS
All legal advice centres follow the same operational rules. This ensures that the client and student experience is consistent between such centres. It also enables staff to maintain quality control more effectively. Solicitors holding practising certificates supervise each centre. (Your institution) also has professional indemnity insurance cover to protect its staff, students and clients.
Set out below is an outline of the way in which the Centre works:
· All participating students (‘Student Advisors’) must complete an induction programme in which the operational rules and the reasons for them are clearly explained. All students get a copy of the Handbook and must sign a contract in which they agree to comply with the rules.
· Student Advisors are organised into pairs or a group of three.
· Clients telephone for an appointment.
· The Centre Administrator takes brief details of the case from the client. A Supervisor then decides whether the case is suitable for the Centre. Factors taken into account include urgency, complexity and available expertise and whether or not the case is likely to be of educational benefit to the students. If the Centre cannot help, the client is told why and, where possible, alternative sources of help are suggested.
· If the Centre can help, the Administrator allocates Student Advisors, makes an appointment and confirms the appointment in writing. The client will also be sent written details of the nature and extent of the service provided.
· The Student Advisors must then check with the Administrator at least a week before their allocated interview date to confirm the date, time and client details. This gives the Student Advisors the opportunity to carry out any preliminary research that may be necessary. Remember, it is the responsibility of Student Advisors to contact the Centre Administrator.
· The Student Advisors meet with the Supervisor half an hour before the time set for the interview to discuss how they intend to conduct the interview. You will be supervised throughout your case by the same Supervisor wherever possible.
· The Student Advisors then interview the client. A Supervisor is always available for consultation but does not take part in the interview. This is a fact-finding exercise. No advice must be given at this stage. Student Advisors inform the client orally and in writing of the nature and extent of the service, including the fact that advice can only be given in writing after the case has been researched.
· Following the interview, the Student Advisors have a post-interview review meeting with the Supervisor and report back on the interview. They will also discuss whether the case is suitable for the Centre to advise on and, if so, how the Student Advisors intend to progress the case.
· On the same day, the Student Advisors draft a letter informing the client whether the Centre can advise him or her. If so, the client is also told when the advice letter will be ready – normally within two weeks of the interview. If not, the client is given the reason and, where relevant, referred on to another agency which may be able to help.
· If the Centre is able to help, the Student Advisors agree an action plan with the Supervisor and conduct and record factual and legal research.
· The Student Advisors also arrange a further appointment (normally a week later) with the Supervisor to discuss research findings, the progress of the case and the first draft of an advice letter.
· The Supervisor scrutinises the draft advice letter and approves or suggests appropriate amendments. In practice, it takes Student Advisors several drafts to produce a professionally-acceptable advice letter. Exceptionally, if the period exceeds two weeks, the client is advised of the delay. If the delay is considered prejudicial to the case the Supervisor will intervene and take appropriate action.
· When the advice letter is eventually approved, the Supervisor and Student Advisors sign it and place it in the post tray in the Administration Office, together with an evaluation questionnaire.
· On conclusion of the case, all students are asked to complete an Experience Evaluation Form and to meet with their Supervisor to discuss their performance.
· At the end of each term, the Student Advisors must also attend a Group Evaluation Meeting, to discuss their experience generally within the Centre.
THE CLIENT
· How many clients will I see?
You will interview one client, following which you will have to work intensively for a period of two weeks. In addition you will be asked to evaluate your experience critically. Clinical legal education is all about doing, and learning from doing.
· Who will be responsible for the client?
You and your partner(s) will be responsible for the client under the overall supervision of a Centre Supervisor.
Your clients will be real people with real problems. Yes, you will be working under supervision, but you - not your Supervisor - will have the relationship with the client and you will have the responsibility of providing the advice.
· Where will the clients come from?
The Advice Centre offers advice to members of the public. Although we are in principle able to take on any case, in practice we only take on clients whose cases suit our educational purposes. We therefore do not need or expect to take on the cases of all people whom we might be able to help, nor do we expect to offer the range of legal services which other agencies might provide. We offer an advice-only service. Clients are fully informed as to the nature and scope of the service we offer before any case is taken on. (Your institution) is also aware of the extent of unmet legal needs and tries to ensure that its service is targeted at those clients who are otherwise unable or unlikely to get help.
OUR STANDARDS
· What standard will I be expected to achieve?
We owe a duty to provide a competent and professional service to all clients we advise. The Centre is subject to the professional rules and disciplinary procedures of The Law Society. All Student Advisors will be working on client matters under the supervision of Solicitors who hold practising certificates.
· Will the Law Society’s Rules of Professional Conduct apply to me?
Yes. You are part of the Advice Centre team. The team is supervised by professionally-qualified staff. These staff must ensure that the Centre operates within the relevant rules and codes. It is essential that you become familiar with the professional rules and operating procedures of the Centre. All advice prepared by you must be checked and approved by one of the Supervisors.
· How will I know that I am doing things right?
Apart from being closely supervised at all stages of your participation in the Centre, we believe that you will wish to know whether the work you have produced and your overall contribution to the Centre have been of a satisfactory standard. We believe the best way to achieve this is through a process of self-evaluation coupled with a consideration of your file by the Supervisor.
If you have completed your case satisfactorily you will be presented with a certificate to acknowledge your achievement. It is hoped that student performance in the Centre will become a formally-assessed part of the BVC and LPC.
YOUR CENTRE
· Who are the Supervisors?
Members of the Centre staff for 2006/2007 are:
Title / Name / Telephone No.· Where is the Centre?
The Centre is at: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
There are dedicated interviewing, administrative and student work spaces together with Supervisory facilities.
The e-mail address is:
The postal address is:
Telephone number:
· When does the Centre operate?
Client appointments will be made during normal office hours. The telephone number for the Centre’s Administrator is a dedicated Centre telephone number and voicemail on which clients can leave messages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Appointments will be held on weekdays during term-time, at ……………………
Students will be allocated to a rota. The advice rota will not be maintained during vacation periods or when students do not have sufficient time to devote to their casework, e.g. revision and examination times. The rota will also be suspended if the caseload exceeds the optimum number for the Legal Advice Centre’s purposes.
· When will I be able to use the Centre facilities?
Due to the confidential nature of the work and to the equipment involved, we cannot leave the Centre unlocked for casual use. If you need access to the Centre when it is locked, you can get a key from ………………………….. at …………….... You will have to provide identification and will need to sign the key out. You are responsible for returning the key as soon as you have finished working in the Centre. You should never take the key off the premises or leave the Centre unlocked when unoccupied by the Centre staff or Student Advisors. You can use the Centre whenever (your institution) is open unless Centre staff tell you otherwise.
YOUR PARTICIPATION
· How do I know what my case is about and what case details will I have?
As stated earlier, you will be allocated a date and time for a client interview. The Centre Administrator will contact you by e-mail at least one week before the allocated date, to check the date, time and client details and provide you with a copy of the Appointment Request Form.
· What case details will I have?
The Appointment Request Form will contain a brief outline of the client’s problem as recorded by the Centre Administrator. You are then expected to arrange a preliminary meeting with your partner(s) to discuss how you propose to conduct the interview and also to carry out any preliminary research that may be necessary. You should use this information to consider the facts you will need to establish during the interview and the questions you will need to ask.
· What if I am unable to attend?
It is imperative for the client, the Centre, (your institution), and for your own reputation that the rota system operates effectively.
IF FOR ANY REASON YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND AN APPOINTMENT, YOU MUST NOTIFY THE CENTRE ADMINISTRATOR OR SUPERVISOR IMMEDIATELY, AND WE WILL TRY TO ARRANGE FOR ANOTHER APPOINTMENT AT A LATER DATE. WE WILL ONLY DO SO IF YOU HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR BEING UNABLE TO ATTEND THE INTERVIEW.