Law Clinic Students Provide Valuable "Know Your Rights" Presentations
On November 14, 2011, UND Clinical Education Program students gave community education presentations to staff from North Dakota's domestic violence victim service provider organizations. The student presentations were featured at a board meeting of the North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services (NDCAWS), which met in Bismarck.
These "Know Your Rights" presentations explained existing housing rights that victims have as tenants in private housing in North Dakota, including anti-discrimination protections and a recently-enacted state statute. Over the semester, the students enrolled in the Law Clinic course conducted the necessary legal research and developed these hour-long presentations to provide domestic violence victims, through their service providers, critical information about their housing rights and legal protections as victims of domestic violence.
In the Clinical Eduation program, UND law students develop fundamental lawyering skills and values by engaging in legal advocacy on behalf of persons who otherwise would be unable to obtain legal representation. These experiences lead to marketable skills that can assist students in their post-law school job search.
Clinical Education students contribute to improving access to justice by providing lower income persons with the means to enforce existing legal rights and by promoting community-wide understanding of the laws protecting the rights of tenants and employees. Consistent with the law school's mission, the Law Clinic course integrates opportunities to teach students the habit of reflection, the value of collaboration, and the importance of professional responsibility in the context of litigation and legal advocacy.