LEGAL CLINICS IN THE SYSTEM OF PRACTICAL TRAINING OF LAW PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

In the article the purpose and role of legal clinics in the system of practical training of specialists in the field of law are researched, the regulatory framework for their organization and activities is defined, and also the need for the mandatory establishment and proper functioning of legal clinics in higher education institutions is substantiated. It is established that today the professional training of future specialists in the field of law is characterized by a disproportion between theoretical knowledge and practical skills of law graduates, which leads to difficulties in their adaptation to practical work. It is substantiated that reforming the system of training future lawyers, increasing its practical orientation, taking into account the needs of different areas of legal practice, the formation of law enforcement skills should be carried out by attracting students to work in legal clinics established in higher education institutions, and should be become the basis for the development of legal education in Ukraine. It is established that legal clinics are formed with the aim of consolidating students’ theoretical knowledge and acquiring practical skills and abilities of the legal profession, forming their respect for the principles of law, raising the level of legal culture of the population, as well as providing free legal assistance to people in need. At the same time, despite the social component, the educational purpose of the activity of legal clinics is the main one, which is due to the prerequisites for the emergence of the very idea of using legal clinics in the educational process of training lawyers. Attention is focused on the need to take into account the progressive foreign experience in the field of the functioning of legal clinics in order to optimize their activities in Ukraine. It is concluded that the widespread introduction of elements of legal clinical education by the legal schools of Ukraine into the educational process and the proper use of legal clinics as unique bases for passing practice by law students will certainly contribute to the proper training of specialists in the field of law, the formation of their sustainable practical skills in law enforcement, and quality improvement legal education.