Justice at the Grassroots: Clinical Legal Education and Family Law Practice in India­

The fraternity of legal profession is noble in its true sense. To realise and enjoy this, a budding member should be well aware of the legal principles. In this courtroom war, arguments shall be structured in precise perfection.

Overcoming Fear Through Clinical Legal Education

Outside the curriculum, the essential skill that each student should cultivate before leaving the law campus is the management of their own fear. A legal aid clinic in the campus is the right venue for each student. It facilitates the opportunity to work with their faculties in dealing with clients and thus enable them industry ready. In this process the faculty handling the legal clinic should have enough practical knowledge in the client counselling, preparation of client care letters if required and define the psychology of the client itself, i.e whether the client is a layman or an expert by experience in law or a psychologically disturbed.

Understanding the Client: A Key to Success

The essence of understanding the client is one element of success in the professional life. The position of client shall be well defined by clinical practices guidelines, If the client exceeds the guidelines, the lawyer/advocate should know to draw the line. Little financial benefit should not compromise the reputation of the firm and the advocate. These type of basic skills should be developed by students or opportunity to do so shall be given to the students in understanding them.

Client has the right to dictate the terms to his lawyers. Whether is it acceptable to the advocate has to be determined by the advocate himself.

Upholding Professional Ethics

The work and profession ethics shall not be compromised.

Likewise, students should be well aware that the legal profession is a fraternity where cohabitation and co-existence is the motto rather than the professional vengeance, jealousness and discriminative factors of all forms.

The Role of Lawyers in Society

Law students especially at Chennai has to grasp the nature of legal service. The legal fraternity is parallel to the political service and should never be intercepted. A lawyer by profession at least should overcome political servitude prevailing in south India. Your role in the society is to serve the society and not a lifelong slave to political ideology. You shall form your own crowd. Unfortunately, budding lawyers tend to be one among the crowd for a politician. What is the point in the legal profession and the knowledge gathered if that knowledge is not sufficient enough to enjoy freedom mentioned under Article 23 of Indian Constitution. Free from servitude by legal knowledge is the motto.

Integrity in the Legal Profession

This is a profession of great integrity. Students should know the power of earning a place in this fraternity. This place is not alms by frequent attention to the daily needs of your faculty or senior lawyers. Day by day, collecting bits of knowledge ready to be used in the future professional life is an integrity, may be initially criticised, but worth future endeavours which the profession demands.

The prerogative of advocacy is the seamless independence of self-learning and self-dependence.

The Making of a Lawyer

A laughter of your senior lawyer may have arisen from his bliss in observance to a wonderful budding lawyer moulded. Contrary, may be a pathetic helplessness of life wasted like many. Can a lawyer in making be equipped with knowledge enough to know the difference, that which among the above suits you. Be proud in the first case and move with confidence. Determination to improve and excel in the second case. Either way, students have to take the path.

Legal Aid Clinics as Mediation Centers

A legal aid clinic could be the best mediation centre if the the manager of the clinic knows what they are doing. every clinic should encourgae the public to approach free legal aid clinic attached to the Law institution and improve the scope of settlement rather than the permanent hostility.

Conclusion

Let us not fear to mediate than mediate with fear.