World Monitor Magazine WM_November_2019_web | Page 82

Social responsibility
kimep legal clinic
Beneficiaries of the
Project:
Amount invested: Socially vulnerable people, who are otherwise unable
to afford qualified legal aid
Number of employees
engaged in the Project: Full time: two KIMEP faculty members (KLC Director and Academic
Internship Supervisor) who supervise law students’ consultations.
In addition, other law faculty members help with supervision.
Around 40 law students per year
More than USD 20 000 per year
Free clinical legal aid typically includes students service
to clients assisted by the law faculty with research,
drafting legal arguments, and client meeting. Therefore,
it presents major challenge to any organizer, requires lots
of consistent work, and thousands of dollars of investment
throughout its existence.
KIMEP’s LC was been founded seven years ago, and it
functions throughout every academic year. The clinical
education is a part of Law School curriculum, and we intend
to have the LC working as long as the Law School is at KIMEP.
KIMEP Legal Clinic (LC) is a project of KIMEP Law School
designed with two goals. First it provides free legal aid to
socially vulnerable people in Kazakhstan who otherwise
cannot afford qualified legal assistance. Free legal aid is
regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring
equality before the law, the right to qualified legal aid and
the right to fair trial. Secondly, the LC is a legal teaching
method based on experiential learning, which fosters the
growth of students’ knowledge, personal skills and values as
well as promoting social justice at the same time.
The LC encompasses a variety of formal, non-formal and
informal educational programs and projects. It uses practical-
oriented, student-centered, problem-based, interactive
learning methods, that includes practical work by students
on real cases and social issues supervised by academics
and professionals. These educational activities develop
professional attitudes and foster the growth of the practical
skills of students with regard to the modern understanding of
the role of a socially oriented attorney in promoting the rule
of law, who provides access to justice and peaceful conflict
resolutions, and solving social problems.
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KIMEP’s initial investment included facilities, computers,
telephones and other office equipment, specially designed
client management software and faculty training abroad.
The school has so far invested approximately USD 25 000.
The LC Director is a faculty member who receives course
teaching relief for working at LC. Additionally, all Law
School faculty members help with the supervision of
students’ work.
It required KIMEP around two years to have the project fully
working and clinical education in its law curriculum began
three years after the project was initiated. In cooperation
with Pravmedia (a project of www.zakon.kz), a year ago,
KIMEP Legal Clinic started also online consultations.
KIMEP LC continues to meet its academic and social
objectives. As the result of its work, KIMEP law students
benefit from the program as well as the local community.
For 2016-2017, KIMEP on an individual basis consulted
with 41 people (126 cases), and 105 people online. Totally,
146 people. Those clients included victims of domestic
abuse, sexual assault, social aid applicants, small-sized
businesses, etc.