Law Society hosts successful Street Law conference

Street Law is a legal literacy programme that has spread across the globe since its foundation in 1972 at Georgetown University Legal Centre in Washington D.C. It enlists law students and legal professionals to educate key groups within society about the law, using hands-on learning techniques.

Street Law has already catered to a diverse range of groups across Ireland, from school pupils, to members of housing associations, and even to prisoners in Wheatfield and Mountjoy prisons.

In Ireland, Street Law was brought to public attention in February, when it featured on RTÉ’s Nationwide programme. The episode followed a transition year class from Tallaght Community School as they engaged in the initiative, which culminated in a moot court trial at the Law Society’s premises on Blackhall Place. The school noted that pupils involved in the initiative were much more likely to go on to third level education - a significant number of them choosing to study law.

Two trainee solicitors who took part in Street Law, Lís O’Connor from Arthur Cox and Susie Kiely from Kennedys Law, took time out of the office to address the conference on their experience with the initiative.

Ms Kiely told Irish Legal News: “Street Law does phenomenal work across Ireland to educate the public at large in legal literacy.

“I was involved with teaching school kids in DEIS schools across Co Dublin, and the response we received from the kids was just phenomenal. It really sparked an interest in the law and opened up the possibility of a legal career to many of the participants.”

The Annual Ireland and UK Street Law Conference will conclude later on today with the launch of the 2017-18 programme across Ireland. Forty-two trainee solicitors from across Ireland will be delivering Street Law initiatives to target groups all around the country.

Kevin Burns, Irish Legal News