Student legal advice

Student legal advice is legal advice from students at universities or in a university environment. In contrast to student management consulting , the requirements of the Legal Services Act must be observed. A distinction must be made between advisory services from the university or the AStA , in which lawyers or employees qualified as judges work for students. Advice fromStudents, on the other hand, can certainly also benefit third parties. It can be part of university teaching, but it can also be organized by the AStA or by students independently of the university.

The didactic background of such offers is to give students the opportunity to try out the skills learned in the theory of the course on real cases and to learn social skills . The course is supplemented by the acquisition of key qualifications. In this respect, the aim of a stronger lawyer-orientation of legal training, as provided for by the German Judges Act, which was reformed in 2002 , is taken into account ( Section 5a (3) DRiG). Student legal advice provides this in the form of learning by doing .

The American term legal clinic is often used in connection with legal advice from students . Of course, this has a multiple meaning in the USA: There the term primarily describes the offer of free legal advice for people in need ( legal aid clinic ), in particular by social organizations or law firms (also without student participation). From the point of view of university teaching, "clinical legal education" generally describes practical relevance in legal teaching, including simulations such as moot courts , internships or negotiation training in university teaching, so it does not necessarily include advisory work towards third parties. This understanding of the term also only includes offers from the universities themselves, not corresponding student initiatives . In Germany and many European countries, the term is usually understood in a third sense - what is meant here is the legal advice given here by students in any form (even if this is done independently of the university). To avoid misunderstandings, the term “clinic” should therefore be avoided.

International environment and history

Origins in the USA

The pioneers in the field of student legal advice were the USA , where universities got involved in so-called legal clinics at an early stage . These offer free support to financially disadvantaged legal seekers (especially in criminal matters ). Alongside social organizations, universities are an important bearer of this model. In addition, the consequences of the lack of practical training comparable to the German traineeship are reduced. There were first offers there at the end of the 19th century. The modern design of such legal clinics did not begin until the 1960s, thanks to generous funding from the Ford Foundation . In 1973, 125 of the then 147 law schools had such offers. A survey from the year 2007/2008 among 131 law schools showed that there were a total of 809 clinics (6.2 per law school), only 3 respondents stated that they did not have a corresponding offer.

Other states

In other countries, it was difficult to find comparable offers. Even in the United Kingdom , which is also part of the Anglo-American legal system , only 13% of universities offered such programs in 1994. In contrast, in Russia there were already 160 such clinics in 2009 - which were established mainly with the support of American universities after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the mid-1990s.

In the Czech Republic there are several law clinics at the Palacký University in Olomouc , where the first Czech Law Clinic was founded in 1996. In 2015, there were 25 university legal advice services in 15 cities in Poland . In Slovenia there is the Ljubljana Legal Clinic for Refugees and Foreigners at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana , which is supported by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Legal advice is also provided by students in Belarus , India and Croatia . Legal clinics affiliated to universities have existed in the Baltic states since 2000.

Situation in Austria

In Vienna, the development of a law clinic was initiated in 2014 by a student initiative through the Vienna Law Clinics Association - Student Legal Advice in Vienna . Since the summer semester 2017, the law faculty of the University of Vienna has had a law clinic in the areas of asylum law, startups and consumer law. After completing a course given by experienced practitioners from the respective fields of law, the students can provide advice through the association. They are also guided and supported by practitioners. In addition, there has been a Refugee Law Clinic at the University of Graz since October 2016.

Development in Germany

In Germany, “clinics” have been under discussion for lawyers for almost 150 years. Even back then, the use of the term “clinic” was argued that it sounded “as if jurisprudence was a chronic disease”. Accordingly, it is still not used by many German offers.

Despite a favorable plea in 1896, this form of legal training was initially unable to establish itself in Germany. From 1935 to 2008, the legal advice law in force at that time prevented direct advice from students. Only activities prior to the consultation (in particular as an expert) were permitted.

It was only through the liberalization within the framework of the Legal Services Act that an individual advisory activity was made possible for students vis-à-vis those seeking legal advice. From the legal profession's point of view , this development is sometimes viewed with skepticism. Smaller law firms in particular fear competition in the acquisition of new clients. With advisory assistance and legal aid , the need for such services is also significantly lower than in the USA . It is feared that a two-class society will emerge. Finally, the didactic need is also disputed, since in Germany there is a specific practical training with the legal clerkship .

Situation in Germany

The Legal Services Act (RDG) allows students to take action out of court ( e.g. warning letters , telephone calls) and to represent them vis-à-vis authorities in addition to providing advice . In contrast, representation in court is not permitted ( Section 79 (2 ) ZPO ). For the other cases, too, instructions from a person authorized to give advice or a person qualified to be a judge are required ( Section 6 (2) RDG).

Advice on tax matters is not permitted ( Section 2 StBerG ). The Association for the Promotion of Tax Law Studies at Leibniz University Hannover (VFS Hannover) is taking legal action against this prohibition of free tax law advice in order to be able to set up the first Tax Law Clinic in Hannover.

There is no general liability privilege for the free legal advice. Rather, this must be contractually agreed in each individual case . The establishment of a legal person (such as an entrepreneurial company (limited liability) or a registered association ) is sometimes seen as a way out . The relationship with the law firm (for which liability insurance is required, § 59c ff. BRAO ) has not yet been clarified.

The possibilities for student legal advice are used by various universities and student initiatives:

In 2013, the student legal advice Pro Bono Heidelberg was founded at the Legal Seminar of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg and registered as an association in 2014. Advice is provided free of charge for legal problems in civil and migration law with a value in dispute of up to 700 euros. Cases of criminal and tax law are not accepted.

The Cyber Law Clinic Hamburg is a project established by the Faculty of Law at the University of Hamburg since the winter semester 2012/13 . The Law Clinic was founded as the Media Law Clinic. In August 2014 the name was changed to Cyber Law Clinic in order to focus activities and advice even more on Internet law. Advice is provided under the guidance of a lawyer on all questions of internet law. The Cyber Law Clinic offers small businesses, foundations and creative people, but also private individuals, free legal advice in the field of internet law and social media. The Cyber Law Clinic has since entered into cooperation with the Hamburg Kreativgesellschaft and the Mediennetz Hamburg and also offers legal advice in this context.

The Humboldt Law Clinic was founded at the Baer Chair and has existed since 2010. The first clinic supervised by the Baer Chair deals with cases in the field of fundamental and human rights ; Since 2012, the Consumer Law Clinic and the Humboldt Law Clinic Internet Law have been added, which deal with cases relating to consumer protection law and Internet law.

In 2012, the Bucerius Law School founded a Law Clinic in cooperation with the Diakonie Hamburg . There, students work with lawyers who not only provide legal advice, but also out-of-court and in-court representation. The main areas of activity are social law and immigration law.

The Legal Clinic at the University of Hanover has been offering legal advice for university students in civil and public law since 2010. Exceptions are advice on criminal and administrative offense law, family and inheritance law and activities against the university itself.

The Refugee Law Clinic Hannover started its work in 2015. Advice is provided on asylum and immigration law .

The student legal advice at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena PARA legal was founded in June 2011 as the first legal advice, which is operated exclusively by students. PARA legal handles cases from all areas of law except criminal law. Legal advice is given independently by the student members. In the background, however, the results are examined and corrected by lawyers on a voluntary basis.

The University of Bremen has been cooperating with the Association for Legal Aid in Prisons of the State of Bremen since 1977 and provides legal advice to prisoners under the supervision of a lawyer.

The Giessen Refugee Law Clinic was founded in 2007 and is limited to asylum and immigration law. The consultations and workshops are carried out in close cooperation with the university and the refugee counseling service of the Evangelical Dean's Office in Gießen.

Student legal advice is set up in Bielefeld ; the introductory course will take place in the 2011/2012 winter semester, the advice will begin in the 2012 summer semester.

The student's legal advice at the Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf is since 2010 by a team of lawyers , professors and employees with qualified judge looked after. Cases up to an equivalent value of 700 euros are processed. The initial contact and the administration of the cases take place exclusively online .

Student Litigators , which is independent from universities , was founded in 2011 by students from Cologne and organized as a non-profit company (limited liability) . It was the first independent student legal advice. The nationwide team of around 70 students was looked after by a legal advisory board and divided its advice into practice groups. On August 26, 2013, the students' project ended.

The student legal advisory service Law & Legal from Tübingen has existed since the end of 2011 and was initially mainly active in the Tübingen area. Law & Legal has had additional locations in Heidelberg and Bayreuth since the beginning of 2014. In 2015, locations in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main were also added. As of 2015, Law & Legal is the only supraregional student legal advice service in Germany that offers personal legal advice at its locations. It operates independently from universities. Law & Legal is a non-profit and registered association. The advisory service is aimed in particular at students from the Bayreuth, Berlin, Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Munich and Tübingen area.

The student legal advice at the HWR Berlin (StUR) supervised by the chair Prümm has been offering open consultation hours for questions from students since 2004.

Since 2012, the Student Legal Advisory Service of the Philipps University of Marburg has been offering free legal advice to students, employees and their relatives at Philipps University.

In November 2013, the Refugee Law Clinic of students at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich started work. She advises asylum seekers, refugees and foreigners on questions of residence law. Heribert Prantl is the patron .

In June 2014, the Pro Bono Student Legal Advice Freiburg started its work in Freiburg . It was launched in spring 2014 by Freiburg students, organized and registered as a non-profit association. Pro Bono Freiburg specializes in Internet law , tenancy law , sales law and entrepreneurship . In addition to dealing with cases, the Freiburg Legal Clinics ( Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg ) offer members the opportunity to go through an additional training program, which offers events for further training in the practical application of law.

The Law Clinic Frankfurt am Main - Student Legal Advice from Frankfurt am Main has existed since mid-October 2014. It is organized as a non-profit association and offers legal advice in the areas of tenancy, labor and internet law. It is independent of the universities.

The Refugee Law Clinic Leipzig was founded in spring 2014 by students from the University of Leipzig and provides advice on asylum and immigration law. The non-profit association is under the patronage of the Chair for Public Law, State and Constitutional Law, but is open as an independent initiative for students and volunteers from all disciplines. The Refugee Law Clinic Leipzig has set up its own training program in the field of asylum and refugee law and, in addition to advice, also offers support with administrative procedures, telephone calls and referral to public offices. She also gives information and educational lectures on behalf of public institutions, associations and social initiatives.

There have been two law clinics in Passau since 2014, which were founded and operate independently of one another: a student legal counseling and a law clinic for information and media law connected to a chair .

The Refugee Law Clinic in Erlangen and Nuremberg has existed since February 2015. It is limited to advice on asylum and immigration law.

The Law Clinic Augsburg was founded in spring 2015 and affiliated to the University of Augsburg. It is also limited to asylum and immigration law.

The Refugee Law Clinic Freiburg was founded in July 2015 . She supports refugees in questions of migration law.

A Germany-wide network of Refugee Law Clinics has existed since 2015; 29 locations are now represented in Germany.

In 2016 , students at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität founded the Law Clinic in Münster as a registered association. This is v. a. active in the field of tenancy and migration law.

The PRO BONO Mannheim initiative - Student Legal Advice - was founded at the University of Mannheim at the end of 2014 and, after being registered in 2016, advises on civil and immigration law. The focus is on tenancy and contract law as well as on preparing for a hearing in asylum law.

The Law Clinic Bonn was founded in May 2015 by students from the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn . Around 70 students advise in almost all areas of law.

Start Right was founded in 2017 by students from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich as the first student legal adviser with a focus on social projects . The around 40 volunteers of the non-profit association advise on social projects, especially in association and corporate law.

The Bund Studentischer Rechtsberater (BSRB) was founded at the beginning of 2012 to network the student legal advisors with one another. According to its own account, the association has set itself the task of linking student legal advice and legal advisors in Germany, strengthening the exchange and the pro bono idea and ensuring quality standards in legal advice. In addition, the BSRB has been publishing the German Journal of Legal Education since May 2014. This legal training magazine specifically deals with the practical approaches of legal training.

The German Refugee Law Clinics have come together in the umbrella organization Refugee Law Clinics Germany .

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