Gaining work experience in Community Legal Centres - Demi Swain

Demi Swain spent a semester at the Employment Law Centre as part of the Law in Context elective.

Community Legal Centres (CLCs) stem from the rationale that all people should have access to justice. Those who seek such services typically have nowhere else to turn and CLCs are therefore invaluable to their communities. Outside this social justice rationale, I personally have found my experience at the Employment Law Centre (ELC) one that has enabled me to put my theoretical learning at university into practice. Often the jump between university and practice is a large one, but through my experience at the ELC, I have been able to gain practical understanding and skills that will be highly valuable in the future and enable this jump to be less severe.

The skills I have specifically developed include client liaising, client interviewing and issue spotting, document drafting, creating client files and research. These skills have been highly beneficial to my university studies, in improving my practical understanding of aspects of the law (particularly employment law), document writing and research. The most advantageous skill I believe I have learned from my experience is the ability to communicate with clients who come from all walks of life. This has sometimes been a challenge, but one that has been immensely rewarding and proved CLCs provide instrumental assistance.

My experience at the Employment Law Centre has confirmed my decision to become a lawyer and I would recommend clinical legal experience to all law students to both promote access to justice and gain practical skills.

Demi Swain