Our University and Istanbul Bar Association Signed a Cooperation Protocol
Our Faculty of Law signed a cooperation protocol with the Istanbul Bar Association on November 1, 2017 to develop and further expand the reach of its Law Clinics. Initially launched to give students an opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge in use in the real world, Law Clinics have recently been transformed into courses. The protocol is aimed at enhancing professional knowledge and skills of Faculty of Law students while contributing to the development of solutions for legal problems for those who have limited access to justice.
The protocol enables our Law Clinics students to take part as an observer in pro-bono legal services offered by the Istanbul Bar Association’s Legal Aid Office and have a first-hand exposure to legal proceedings under the guidance of attorneys. Our students will also have the opportunity to participate in the activities carried out by centers, commissions, and boards founded under the Istanbul Bar Association. To this end, our students will attend meetings such as symposiums, panel discussions, on-the-job training and seminars, take part in court hearings as observers or joint attorneys, and participate in publishing activities, or any other activities to follow up on legislations, judicial decisions, and the latest developments. Furthermore, the cooperation also entails organizing scientific and professional events within the scope of the Law Clinics course with the participation and support of attorneys from the Istanbul Bar Association.
The cooperation was signed by our Rector Prof Dr. Esra Gencturk, and Mr. Mehmet Durakoğlu, President of the Istanbul Bar Association, during a signing ceremony participated by Prof. Dr. Dr. Yener Ünver, Dean of our Faculty of Law, and Ms. Selmin Cansu Demir, attorney at general and Law Clinics instructor. Our students will take an active part in services offered by the Istanbul Bar Association in the fields of legal aid, human rights, women rights, children’s rights, health law, or attorneys’ act. Thus, our students will obtain significant experiences for their future careers before they graduate.
The signing ceremony was followed by the conference “Recommendations for Young Legal Professionals” by Mr. Mehmet Durakoğlu, attorney at law and Istanbul Bar Association president.
About Law Clinics
Law Clinics are an applied education model engineered for the Faculty of Law students. The clinics are intended to engage students in activities that aim to strengthen citizens’ access to legal remedies, and equip them with the knowledge, skills and values they will need in their future careers.
Law Clinics aim to give students the opportunity to put the theoretical knowledge they learned in class into practice in the real world and offer pro-bono legal guidance to those who have legal issues.
At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze how legal mechanisms function and identify potential challenges and issues faced in the pursuit of justice. Students will adopt the code of ethics in law, learn how to prepare a written and oral legal opinion, and have a deeper understanding and knowledge about how to resolve a legal issue, and how to use communication techniques in the most effective way. They will learn through experience the fundamental values and skills each legal practitioner should possess.
The clinics give students the chance to get to know and connect with members of society who have special needs, and take on the responsibility to improve their access to justice, before they graduate. The Law Clinics also aim to support applicants and citizens we work together in courthouses to help them stand strong in the face of their legal problems.
The Faculty of Law at Özyeğin University has been offering Law Clinics since 2014. In the 2016-2017 academic year, 50 students volunteered for the clinics. The clinics have been offered as a 2-credit elective since the 2017-2018 Fall semester.
In 2017, students worked on
- 10 legal disputes pertaining to different disciplines of law, including inheritance, family, criminal, real estate, rental (landlord and tenant), commercial, and labor law.
- They visited courthouses and prepared court monitoring reports.
- They also contributed to raising awareness about mediation at the stands set up in courthouses.