Law students have a way to gain skills not taught in the classroom by taking a course that incorporates work with real clients.

NIU’s Zeke Giorgi Legal Clinic in Rockford offers chances for clinical work desperately needed by law students.

Law professor James Alfini believes the clinic is an unique opportunity for students to practice and enhance their skills.

“By taking what they learn in class and applying it to the real world, students gain a better and deeper understanding of concepts,” he said. “The purpose of the clinic is to connect theory with practice.”

The College of Law currently offers three clinical-related courses: Domestic Abuse, Mediation and Elder Law. Students can enroll in one of the courses, each of which requires two hours a week in the classroom and about eight to 12 hours in court or at the library to do research. They can go to Winnebago or Kane County to get experience in court.

The students, generally in their third year of law school, are able to get hands-on experience in many aspects of law. They counsel clients, represent them in court, deal with other lawyers, draft documents and create settlement agreements, among other things.

n Illinois Supreme Court ruling permits licensed students to practice law in a structured and supervised environment.

“The clinic is a venue where students can represent live clients under the direct supervision of an attorney,” said Malcolm Morris, director of skills training for the College of Law. “It also gives students a chance to reflect on the ethical issues regarding the representation of a client.”

The classes are very small, which allows a lot of time for individual attention. The total enrollment in the three courses this semester is only 15, but Morris estimated that about one-third of all law students are able to take advantage of the opportunity before graduation.

The Giorgi clinic also provides a service to residents of Rockford and the surrounding area by supplying legal assistance in several areas to low-income people.

“We don’t take any fees; the services are totally free,” Morris said. “Our goal is to serve people who otherwise may not have the wherewithal to hire an attorney.”

Nicole Stone and William Weatherly, who are both law students involved with the clinic, believe the program is very beneficial.

Stone is enrolled in Elder Law and said she really enjoys it.

“I help people over the age of 50 with various tasks, such as drafting wills,” she said. “We are allowed to go into court and you can’t get this kind of experience starting out a normal law firm. I highly recommend this to any person in law school.”

Weatherly, who’s enrolled in Domestic Abuse, notes that having real clients depending on him can be hard too.

“It is a pressure because I’m not a seasoned lawyer,” he said, “but our supervising attorneys do a good job making sure we don’t make mistakes.”