From Campus to Community- Pro Bono and Legal Aid Ventures from Leading Law Schools

ABSTRACT

Access to justice is the fundamental right of any individual who lives in a society. However, the legal system often remains inaccessible to those who are financially or economically weak to hire a legal representative for them. Pro bono legal services have emerged as an instrument to bridge this gap. This research paper explores the pivotal role that law students and law schools play in enhancing access justice to for every layman, also this paper provides an analytical and critical analysis of pro bono and its other experimental learning methodologies. The study also examines the impact of pro bono services upon vulnerable and underserved communities. Through a comprehensive analysis of the role of law students and law schools in the provisions provided in the Constitution, this research tries to show the insights into best practices and ill practices that are happening in the country by the legal firms in the exploitation of fresh law learners in the name of pro bono services.

INTRODUCTION

We know in India in terms of access to justice there is a gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of the application of law. We need arrangements made by the state to ensure that the general public can avail of the benefits of the law and ensure the proper functioning of the legal system. There are also legal and institutional barriers that result in delays in justice and legal proceedings. Lack of sufficient judicial infrastructure burdens the common man to visit the courts daily as a result they deny taking the step of filing a case.

THE WORD PRO BONO EXPLAINED AND THE MEANING

The word Pro Bono is derived from the Latin word “pro bono publico” which means for the public good. The word is generally used for those professionals who render their free services to the public at a low price or free of cost. Lawyers, many learned advocates, and legal professionals provide free legal services to non-profit organizations and similar organizations that work for the voice of marginalized society. The term is mainly used by someone who is in the legal field, as it serves the public interest to provide justice, equal and impartial say, fair consultation in the eye of the law.[1]

Article 39 A of the Indian Constitution provides provisions for the state to direct and assist free legal aid to the poor and disadvantaged sections of society so that the country can prosper in promoting justice equally to all despite anyone’s socio-economic background.[2]

Also, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 ensures equal access to justice for all citizens worldwide. Keeping all this in mind it performs the obligations assigned to them for pro bono services the Department of Justice intends to create a database of lawyers and legal consultants who wish to render their services and time for the needy, under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act of 1987.

Law students must be guided by several factors for the pro bono scheme, the law schools, and formal and informal institutions must take the initiative of making the students learn more about the activities, plays, and other learning methods to serve the marginalized groups.

WHY VOLUNTEER PRO-BONO IN LAW SCHOOL?

Pro Bono is a program that includes a lot of volunteering aspects to help students learn more about ground reality. It is different from general volunteering schemes where students who are not from the law field can engage and don’t need prior legal skills. There are many options nowadays for students and citizens to organize such programs in their respective universities so that people who are from different streams or courses become aware of such initiatives, also there are many government programs that provide opportunities for students to go and outreach in local schools, local shops or community village. Students who aim to do advocacy in practice can move forward in giving free advocacy to people in need. The ones who aren’t aiming for advocacy can also supplement their work with legal writing and doing research-based work. Based on interest area an individual can commit to projects like physical and emotional abuse of children, sexual assault, and exploitation, as such through pornography or sex trafficking of minor children. Whilst, it of course worth volunteering pro bono work that is relevant to your career plans it is not mandatory but a call of duty from an individual’s conscience.

LAW SCHOOLS AND STUDENT PRO BONO

Law schools play a pivotal role in the widespread involvement of law students and students who are interested in this field of study or are genuinely interested in pro bono activities. The researcher strongly believes in the importance of undergoing a culture of pro bono amongst law schools and students. I see it as an integral part of practical learning and applying the fundamentals of law into the real world so that the next generation of lawyers are acquitted with proper knowledge, paradigm, and conceptual framework.

The latest 2020 report was undertaken with the Clinical Legal Education Organisation (CLEO) to ponder the developments over the last published reports, for instance, the proposed Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam (SQE), the widespread adoption of Legal Tech in law schools, and the widespread contribution that the clinical legal education has made to increase the number of people coming to access justice.[3]

Benefits of Students for doing pro bono work are listed below:-

·?????? The benefits of doing pro bono work are many or uncountable but to name a few, it develops the practical legal skills of an individual when he/she interviews the clients investigate the matters of the client, and draft letters of legal advice.

·?????? It develops the ability to recognize and thoroughly research real fact-based cases, and solve the queries of clients in real.

·?????? Develops communication skills day by day, and helps in building connections with distinct legal professionals, firms, and agencies.

·?????? Make a valuable contribution to his/her local area.

·?????? It also helps in exploring new areas of practice.

·?????? It directly or indirectly adds value to making contacts and pupillage applications.

Hence it is advised by the researcher to explore and voluntarily participate in the wide range of activities and areas that are offered by the pro bono societies in their respective institutions or universities.

PUL, LAW SCHOOLS, AND STREET LAW :- ACCESSIBLE JUSTICE

The law schools make links with the local community, groups, associations, schools, prisons, police stations, etc to take the initiative to ask them what areas of law they or the community might need to know more about or in which area of law more emphasis might be given to help them out of those situations. The concerned students then research the topic, ascertain the law applicable to the area, and then prepare interactive workshops, and physical sessions to deliver the right message and information about the concerned area of law to the community, schools, or groups. Law school supports Public Legal Education through which they work with the Solicitor General’s office to produce a wide range of activities aimed at empowering students and increasing their self-confidence to deal with law-related problems.

The premise underpinning public understanding of law (PUL) is that the students themselves provide legal information to members of the community. By giving people even a basic understanding of their rights and duties, including the way the legal system functions and how to seek legal advice, gradually in that manner they would be able to encounter the legal problems they faced already, or are facing, or will face in the future.

Streetlaw has started some virtual induction and training programs during the pandemic time for law student clinic volunteers. The topics that are covered in such programs are client confidentiality, commercial awareness of laws, guidance on how to work with vulnerable clients, and so forth. Not only this but several emerging universities in India train volunteer students to hone their confidence and make them competent enough to fight for the rights of others under the supervision of learned advocates, caseworkers, etc.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR LEGAL PARITY

The constitution of India through Article 32 and Article 226 promises to provide an effective tool and secure the fundamental rights of every citizen to get access to courts in India.

Article 32 of the Constitution says that a person has the right to directly approach the apex court, that is the Supreme Court of India without going through the hassle of going to the lower courts. Similarly, any person can approach the High Courts through Article 226 of the Indian Constitution for the violation of fundamental rights or any other rights that do not necessarily revolve around fundament rights.? The legal aid cells and centers spread across the country facilitate the citizens to access the courts, and come out of their fears to file a case in the courts for the violation of their fundamental rights. Article 38 of Directive Principles of State says to promote the welfare of people by securing a social order through justice in terms of social, economic, and political to minimize inequalities in income level, social status, and other opportunities.[4] According to Article 39A, it is being mentioned to promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor.[5] It also suggests that free legal aid should be provided at a reasonable price, as per prevailing economic circumstances. This means that there must be an understanding between the government and the concerned citizen to be aware of how much is being charged by them, and eventually create an atmosphere where access to justice could be taken from every corner of the country whether remote or urban everyone would have the ease of approaching courts.

The national authorities such as the National Legal Services Authority and State Legal Services Authority in each respective state/union territory assist the legal matters at the grassroots level. Also, It has been set up to create an authority that provides free legal aid to the weaker sections of society and persons with disabilities.[6] Thus, free legal aid is an important ingredient that can be evoked from Article 21 of the Constitution. This right promises every citizen who is accused of an offense and is unable to afford the charge of a lawyer due to reasons such as poverty, indigence, or any incommunicado circumstance.[7]

BARRIERS IN ACCESS TO JUSTICE WARRIORS

People are not able to acquire remedies for a variety of reasons, which may or may not be related to their social position or economic position,and which may have some grievous impact on the quality of justice delivered by the legal system across the country. The problems are numerous but an initiative to examine the mechanism of the stakeholders are the litigants, the courts, and the executive.

Due to the multiplicity procedures of forums, lower courts, and higher courts, there is a lack of coordination between the various departments due to which getting justice isn’t easy for millions. Frequent transfer of judges leads to rehearing of cases over and over again which results in delay in justice. Here are the few listed concerns that leads to legal barrier in the country :

LEGAL EQUALITY CHAMPION: THE BARRIERS IN INDIA

Lack of resources, mismanagement of accounts, inefficiency, and corruption within the legal system are significant reasons for the delayed delivery of justice. The ineffective administrative processes, lack of transparent records, and corrupted leaders manipulate the data, and facts of the case, which leads to unnecessary hindrances in faster justice delivery. The system of processing the matters, through courts and the Dasti (lower courts) causes major concern to aggrieved parties, from the time of determining where the disputants live until the time of bringing their legal heirs on record, suppose one or more of the parties died recently or isn’t capable to contest, as a result, data are manipulated to gain an advantage over the case by their counsels or parties.[8] In other circumstances, conjuring witnesses becomes a very challenging task for the advocates. The code imposes an obligation on every citizen of this country to coordinate to the fullest manner, from the time of receiving the information to the time of assisting the police in apprehending the offender and testifying them in court, the task demands rigorous labor due to which the witness frequently changes from court, either knowingly or consciously. Therefore, when the case is witnessed again for hearing there is no such address which is available during the investigation time and later the data becomes untraceable.

Lack of Structured Preparation by Advocates:-

Legal education in India often falls short of providing comprehensive training to aspiring lawyers. The curriculum provided to them is mostly theoretical oriented and doesn’t equip the law students with pro bono schemes or practical skills and applications which is utmost needed in the field of advocacy. As a result, many lawyers lack the foundational understanding of legal principles, procedures, and tactics.

The legal profession is dynamic, in every jurisdiction laws are different, and every year there changes constantly with the laws, regulations, and acts of the legislative body. Many law students, lawyers, or advocates aren’t updated on new laws, precedents, and regulatory developments in the country, nor do they undergo training. This leads to outdated legal knowledge and incompetence in handling matters of clients. Not only this but also the new lawyers often struggle to find experienced mentors who can guide them through the nitty-gritty of legal practice. Advocates often face shutting in the courtrooms due to their cases running simultaneously in other courts, therefore ask for adjournments in one or the other case. The frequent adjournments and delays lead to the pendency of the cases and also disrupt the structured case preparation of the lawyers as well as the clients.

There have been efforts to digitize legal processes, but technology adoption among legal practitioners remains uneven. Many lawyers aren’t well-versed in legal technology and may struggle to handle and present their cases.

LAW SCHOOL VOLUNTEER HERO: PRO BONO

For several individuals who are poor or of moderate income level who can’t afford lawyers the pro bono services provide them a platform to overcome their challenges. Recognizing the situation of a country like India which has the majority of its population belonging to lower-middle-class family and middle-class families or the ones who are below the poverty line, in that situation law schools leave many students disillusioned, therefore engaging students in pro bono work during their law school journey offers them a chance to integrate professionalism, sense of purpose and also social commitment towards society, that would ultimately help in the legal profession. It allows the law students to use theoretical bookish knowledge in real life learning process that helps them in practicing the real laws, maintain the balance between practical knowledge about law and about the subject matter of law.

In addition to that pro bono also encourages students in long term professional and personal growth, the pro bono activities that are provided in law school are valuable in training and inspiring upcoming generations of law. The two recent studies that have changed newly the call for law schools to provide students with integrated education that comprises not only legal doctrine but also professionalism and practical skill are the Carnegie Report and Best Practices for Legal Education.[9] The main motive behind developing a pro bono scheme is to appeal to a diverse group of students of course to identify the right niche so that it offers students or the youth of today’s generation meaningful works that will their attention and interests. Finding such a niche is difficult by the fact that work cannot include students from all diverse areas except law-related matters in ways that require knowledge of law, and the ability to deal with or employ someone with law skills.

Pro bono in law school, with its diverse benefits, not only shapes student’s professional lives but also catalyzes bringing positive changes in the Indian legal landscape, and by extending its limits to broader society.

THE MIRAGE OF PRO BONO: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Pro bono activities in law school in the Indian legal system, while often praised, also raise critical questions and concerns. One major is the exploitation of sharp law students as a source of free labor. Some scholars and researchers argue that legal clinics and pro bono work might be used by law schools or law firms to reduce the cost of their services and increase their revenues. In this scenario, students might end up doing the work that could have been assigned to professional, well-established lawyers. Additionally, there’s no substantial growth of pro bono programs, nor it has sustainability in the long run, as law schools and firms already put a lot of workload and pressure on their professional life due to which students get busy and academically pressurized, and lawyers in a law firm are overloaded with already pending cases and projects. Given all of the opportunities, why only a few students are getting involved?

The reason is academic course is time-consuming and load demanding, apart from all these family responsibilities, outside work obligations, and other co-curricular activities leave them with very little time to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.

In addition to all this, students aren’t certain about their potential and work commitment, some of them are even unsure of how to get involved. Finally, there’s a concern that pro bono activities may sometimes lack proper supervision and mentorship due to which students are not able to handle complex legal cases, as there is minimal guidance, which would ultimately lead to subpar legal representation and potentially harm the clients despite bona fide.

REFERENCES

Margaret Meriwether Cordray, Expanding Pro Bono’s Work in Legal Education, 48 Idaho Law Review 29, 37 (2011)

INDIA CONST, art 39A, amended by The Constitution (Forty Second Amendment) Act, 1976

Unacademy, https://unacademy.com/content/clat/study-material/legal-reasoning/article-39a-42nd-amendment-free-legal-aid/, October 12, 2023

Mayukha Parcha & Anichan Tamilmani : Access to Justice in India, Volume 2, (2018)

Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/pro-bono.asp,October 11, 2023

INDIA CONST, art 38, amended by The Constitution (Forty Second Amendment) Act, 1976

Dr. Bharti Yadav, Barriers to Access to Justice, e-PG Pathshala,https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/law/02._access_to_justice/20._barriers_to_access_to_justice___/et/5645_et_20et.pdf (October 12, 2023, 9:49 pm)

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[1]? Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/pro-bono.asp,October 11, 2023

[2]Service Descriptions, https://serviceonline.gov.in/serviceLinkHome.html?serviceToken=GEnPsEv0YR546#:~:text=Pro%20Bono%20comes%20from%20the,without%20seeking%20any%20professional%20fee., (Oct.18, 2023, 10.34am).

[3] https://www.lawworks.org.uk/solicitors-and-volunteers/get-involved/law-schools-and-student-pro-bono.

[4] INDIA CONST, art 38.

[5] INDIA CONST, art 39A, amended by The Constitution (Forty Second Amendment) Act, 1976

[6] Unacademy, https://unacademy.com/content/clat/study-material/legal-reasoning/article-39a-42nd-amendment-free-legal-aid/, October 12, 2023

[7] Mayukha Parcha & Anichan Tamilmani : Access to Justice in India, Volume 2, (2018)

[8] Dr. Bharti Yadav, Barriers to Access to Justice, e-PG Pathshala, https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/law/02._access_to_justice/20._barriers_to_access_to_justice___/et/5645_et_20et.pdf (October 12, 2023, 9:49 pm)

[9] Margaret Meriwether Cordray, Expanding Pro Bono’s Work in Legal Education, 48 Idaho Law Review 29, 30-32 (2011)

[10] Margaret Meriwether Cordray, Expanding Pro Bono’s Work in Legal Education, 48 Idaho Law Review 29, 37 (2011)