14 October 2013
As what the old saying goes, “Those who have less in life must have more in law.”
Recognized as the People’s Law School, the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Law (PLM-CL) will conduct its first Legal Aid Clinic Program at Barangays 829 and 832, Otis, Pandacan, Manila on October 16, 2013 with the theme: “PLM College of Law: Upholding the Rule of Law for the Public Interest.”
The Legal Aid Clinic program aims to provide free legal assistance and counseling to indigent citizens of the City of Manila as well as to equip the students of law a hands-on experience on legal practice.
“The best way to learn law is to learn by experience. Through this program, the students will have an opportunity to apply and share the lessons and principles they have learned in the four corners of the classroom with other members of the community," Associate Dean Marisol DL. Anenias explained during the Orientation Program held at the PLM-CL Moot Court Room last September 25.
Associate Dean Anenias also announced that the PLM College of Law is planning to institutionalize the Legal Aid Program and is coordinating with PLM’s Center for University Extension Services (CUES). In this regard, PLM law students, under the supervision of their College officials and professors, will immerse themselves in the community to provide legal assistance and apply everything they learned in class.
Clinical Legal Education in the Law School Curriculum is now prescribed by the Legal Education Board (LEB).
Aside from the Legal Aid Program, the PLM College of Law, along with the other top law schools in the country, complies with the Board’s legal mandate thru the existence of the Practical Court or Moot Court as part of the Juris Doctor Curriculum. Likewise included in this thrust, together with the College’s advocacy as a law school for the public interest, is its Legal Internship Program or the CLLIP.
More than 30 law students from the PLM College of Law are expected to participate in this endeavor. The PLM Law students have the vision of not only becoming competent lawyers in the future but also efficient public servants who are ready to uphold and protect the public interest especially those who are denied access of the country’s justice system.