Student Testimonials

My experience in the Family Law clinic as part of my second year of my LLM Programme in Children’s Rights and Family Law was extremely beneficial, allowing me to develop my research, writing and communication skills which will transfer over into my future career. The clinic gave me an opportunity to put my knowledge of family law into practice, challenging me to think outside of the box when the answer wasn’t always straightforward.

The module was delivered in an engaging and interactive manner, allowing us to explore legal concepts I hadn’t previously considered. Updating the clinic website allowed me to help those who don’t have a legal background, supporting them to access family law resources. The website facilitates access to justice, and working on this task enhanced my understanding of how inaccessible the law can be, particularly family law. It allowed me to reflect on family law as a whole, and potential reforms needed. Being a part of a team eager to advocate for reform was extremely beneficial also.

The clinic was very informative and extremely engaging. For me, the existence of the two clinics was a decisive factor in why I chose the LL.M. in Ireland, and that was definitely an important reason in retrospect as well. Working in a small group has trained me to work in a team. Coming up with approaches together through discussion and then reading up and working out a way forward in my own research is an approach I do not normally use but have found very effective. In addition to teamwork training, I have learned to screen cases. It was not possible to read all the cases carefully and only then decide whether they were relevant, but a pre-selection had to be made.

Something extremely valuable I can take from my time in the clinic is its focus on access to justice for everyone. We are in a privileged position to have studied law and to be in the LLM Programme, and we should be able to share our knowledge to improve the lives of others. Family law is a particularly sensitive area of law, which is rapidly developing in Ireland. Using our specialist expertise to provide legal information to all people is something that all law students should strive to do, and I am lucky to have been able to have that opportunity in the clinic. Contributing to the provision of accessible legal information through updating the website and completing the blog was a rewarding experience, which I found to be a very innovative aspect of the clinic.

Participating in the family law clinic was more rewarding than I could have imagined. Being able to work with a diverse and engaged team in person allowed us to work together to research difficult legal issues effectively and expand our knowledge of the law in practice. Assisting with research for active cases allowed me to feel that I was making a difference for real people and allowed me think more broadly about my role as a researcher. The clinic allows participants to see how the law works in the “real world”, with a focus on access to justice for everyone.

The clinic is a great addition to the LLM Programme itself because we are given an opportunity to translate our theoretical knowledge of the law into practice, something which I was not able to do during my undergraduate degree.

Overall, my experience in the clinic was a wholly positive one. Although challenging at times, I feel that I have improved my professional skills, and re-discovered my interest in the law itself. I feel that I now have an enhanced understanding of how the law works in practice, which was facilitated through our work on active cases. I contributed to the clinic in a number of ways, through discussions in class, drafting my blog and researching case law. I have had the opportunity to reflect on the family law system as a whole, which the clinic has facilitated, motivating me to advocate for further reform. I am more aware now that I learn most in a collaborative learning environment, and the format of the clinic module contributed to this. The clinic allowed me to put my legal studies into context and develop my skills across a number of areas. I’m sad that it has finished, but I am extremely grateful for the experience that I had.

School of Law

Room 1.63, Aras na Laoi, T12 T656