Another successful placement for the Clinical Law Students
Law Centre NI works to promote legal education. We do this by developing specialist resources and training to assist the Advice Sector and our communities. We also support and inspire Social Justice Lawyers of the future by providing a career pathway for apprentice solicitors through the Justice First Fellowship.
Law Centre NI has been successfully hosting a Clinical Law Placement for final year Queen’s University Law Students since 2017. This year, we again welcomed 18 students for a 10-week practical placement that saw them gain key legal experience working alongside our Anti-Poverty and Migration Justice Projects.
Many of the students choose the Clinical Law Module to develop key skills, but also to learn more about different areas of law that are often not part of the core curriculum in undergraduate degrees.
Every year the Law Centre staff look forward to seeing a new group of enthusiastic students joining the team.
The students completed a variety of practical legal tasks under the supervision and guidance of Law Centre staff. They learned about the importance of influencing law, policy, and practice in our work to change people’s lives for the better. The students also undertook research tasks to develop their understanding of the barriers preventing people accessing, engaging, and trusting a legal system that is there to protect them.
This year students also attended the Court of Appeal to observe two important Human Rights challenges being advanced by Law Centre’s legal team.
During their ten-week placement, students worked on real cases and contributed to the work of the legal teams in the Law Centre office.
The Clinical Law Module provides a unique opportunity for students to gain practical experience while developing their knowledge of social justice, particularly those areas that are sometimes unavailable under the normal university curriculum.
“I would highly recommend this placement at Law Centre NI. It offers a rare opportunity to work on real cases that have real impact, which helped me build practical legal skills while also deepening my understanding of social justice. The support from staff was incredible, and I felt genuinely valued as part of the team. It challenged me in the best way and gave me a clearer sense of the kind of lawyer I want to become…”
Without exposure to these different areas of law, students often do not realise that they exist and could be a potential future career path. With the current challenges facing the advice sector it is more important than ever that we inspire students to use social justice law to make a real difference to people’s lives.
“My time at the LCNI was the most insightful part of my degree. It was clear that every piece of work assigned was carefully planned with the intention of education and training, allowing us to learn something new every week and polish our legal skills step by step. This placement exceeded my expectations- instead of only being trusted with minor administrative tasks, the LCNI made me feel very valued and involved in the actual work they do. I would recommend this placement to everyone…”
During the placement with us, students experienced up close the provision of legal advice by our advisers, the importance of our policy work, and how upskilling and training community members can all impact change and empower people to protect their rights. As part of the Law Centre team, they experienced a well-rounded approach to the law and legal advice while also learning about different career opportunities and roles outside of the traditional qualification routes.
The Clinical Law placement is a learning opportunity for students and requires them to constantly reflect on their experiences, whether it be their ability to simplify complex legislation, interact with the Tribunal process, recognise the importance of consistent client care, or understand how to provide accessible legal services.
“The placement exceeded my expectations. I anticipated gaining legal experience, but I didn’t expect to feel so involved in real-life cases or to be given so much responsibility. I thought I’d mainly observe, but instead I actively reviewed case files, attended tribunal hearings, and contributed to legal work that had a real impact. It was also more emotionally engaging than I expected. I saw how the law affects vulnerable people, specifically when viewing the tribunals, which deepened my understanding and commitment to social justice.”
To reflect on their experiences during the Clinical Law Module, the Law Centre brought all the students together for their final session to share their experiences and consider the different tasks they completed. Students talked about the positive elements of the law in practice, and presented their ideas for improvement, including new policies and legislation they would implement to increase access to justice for everyone, not only those who are able to afford it.
“I was able to gain hands-on experience and felt like I was able to help people for the first time in a legal position.”
The placement at the Law Centre offers a fantastic opportunity to inspire the next generation of social welfare solicitors, while also helping fill the gap in services left by the increasingly challenging environment in the advice sector. Thank you to all the students who completed the placement and made a lasting difference to the lives of our clients.
“I achieved a better practical understanding of the legal process, and its direct effect on claimants, as well as the thought process behind legal representatives as well as tribunals in handling these cases. I gained an emotional appreciation for this side of law, which humanised my entire degree for me.”
Student observation during 2025 placement resulting in legislative change
As part of the placement students are encouraged to make a practical difference to client outcomes by contributing to ongoing casework. This year an eagle eyed student identified an error in Schedule 6 of the UC (NI) Regs 2016. The student observed that both descriptors in Activity 12(b) and 12(c) are currently identical. As a result, Law Centre NI raised this error with the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC reassured that as their guidance is developed from the correctly drafted GB legislation this has not resulted in a negative impact for claimants in NI. However, DfC asked that thanks be passed onto the placement student and committed to correcting the discrepancy in the NI legislation when a suitable legislative vehicle becomes available.