Global Alliance for Justice Education (GAJE)
7th Worldwide Conference
“Advancing Justice Education through Global Commitments and Connections”
Berkeley/Bucerius/Sciences-Po Presentation on Student-Initiated Clinics and
Pro Bono Projects
Law students are often the moving force in establishing law school clinics and pro
bono projects, with faculty and administration sometimes racing to catch up to their
students, and other times blocking their way. Through a simulated faculty meeting
considering a proposal for a student-initiated unemployment insurance clinic, this
panel will explore the dynamics of student and faculty collaboration on initiating
clinics.
The panelists are students and faculty members from Berkeley Law (California),
Sciences-Po Ecole de Droit (Paris), and Bucerius Law School (Hamburg).
At Berkeley Law, the school’s largest clinic (the East Bay Community Law Center) and
the school’s 22 current pro bono projects were all founded by students, with varying
degrees of enthusiasm from the administration/faculty. Ioana Tchoukleva, the
Berkeley student presenter, founded two of the current 22 pro bono projects. David
Oppenheimer, the Berkeley faculty presenter, oversees the Berkeley Law pro bono
program, and previously directed Berkeley’s in-house employment discrimination
clinic.
At Sciences-Po Paris, the law school’s new human rights clinic was established in
response to a student proposal; three faculty members now spend part of their time
working with them. The “Access to Justice” program stemmed from a preliminary
study by students of the available public legal services programs, which was supervised
by Marie Mercat-Bruns, the faculty presenter. This student impetus led to the Sciences
Po “Access to Justice” clinic through collaboration with two essential public
organizations. Professor Mercat-Bruns coordinates this clinic.
At Bucerius Law School in Hamburg students have established a law clinic focusing on
immigration and social security law. The clinic was initiated by students and is led by a
board of law students, PhD students, and recent alumni, with the university and faculty
providing support and infrastructure. Judith Ann-Kathrin Büschleb, one of the
presenters, was the founding student leader of the clinic. Carolin Niedlich, the other
Bucerius presenter, participated in the founding of the clinic, and continues to serve as
one of the clinic leaders.
The first 30 minutes will consist of 10-minute presentations by students and faculty
members from each school. The next 45 minutes will be organized as a simulated
meeting between students and faculty at Imagine True Justice (ITJ) School of Law, in
which a student proposal for a new clinic will be discussed. Members of the audience
will act as members of the faculty and participate in the evaluation of the proposal.
The final 15 minutes will be used to discuss what we have learned from the session.
Presenters:
Judith Ann-Kathrin Büschleb, Attorney, Bucerius Law Class of 2012
Marie Mercat-Bruns, Professor of Law, CNAM & Sciences-Po Ecole de Droit
David B. Oppenheimer, Clinical Professor of Law, Berkeley Law
Carolin Niedlich, Student, Bucerius Law Class of 2014
Ioana E. Tchoukleva, Student, Berkeley Law Class of 2014
Simulation: A Faculty Meeting of the Imagine True Justice (ITJ) School of Law
Meeting Topic: A Proposal By Two Students for Faculty approval of a StudentInitiated Unemployment Insurance Assistance Clinic
Simulation Roles:
Dean of the ITJ School of Law: Marie Mercat-Bruns
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, ITJ School of Law: David B. Oppenheimer
Ass’t Prof at ITJ SOL and Proposed Faculty Advisor: Judith Ann-Kathrin Büschleb
Students Proposing Clinic: Carolin Niedlich and Ioana E. Tchoukleva
Student Clinic Proposal:
Workers in the ITJ community who lose their jobs are entitled to unemployment
insurance compensation for up to 52 weeks as they search for other employment,
unless they were terminated for “good cause.” By interviewing labor leaders in the
community, we have learned that employers are increasingly challenging
unemployment insurance claims by arguing that their former workers were
terminated for good cause. When such a challenge is made, the worker and former
employer are entitled to a hearing before a hearing officer. At these hearings, the
employer is typically represented by either a “human relations specialist” who has
been trained to conduct such hearings, or by an attorney. Workers have a right to
bring a lay advocate or an attorney, but rarely do. Not surprisingly, employers win
80% of the hearings. Local lawyers would be happy to represent workers in these
cases, but their fees make representation unobtainable for most workers.
We propose to establish an unemployment insurance clinic at ITJ School of Law.
Volunteer law students will staff the clinic, with supervision by Assistant Professor
Büschleb and local lawyers who volunteer to assist us. Students will interview
prospective clients, prepare their cases for hearing, and represent them at their
hearings as lay advocates. The Unemployment Insurance Commissioner has agreed
that law students may participate at hearings as lay advocates.
We further propose that ITJ provide the clinic with office space, an interview room,
and part-time administrative support.