THE Access to Justice Scholarship will cover the cost of all fees associated with Master of Laws (LLM) in Clinical Legal education at the University of Ulster.
Places on the highly specialist course are much sought after and it is internationally renowned for giving students the opportunity to develop specialist advocacy and legal advice skills, including tribunal representation, whilst also ad-dressing currently unmet legal needs in the fields of employment law and social security law.
Making the announcement during a visit to the Ulster Law Clinic at the university’s Belfast Campus the Jus-tice Minister David Ford said: “This is a unique legal course which sees traditional learning enhanced by direct, practical experience of advising and representing clients in two highly specialist areas of law.
Under the direction of highly experienced academics and legal practitioners at the University of Ulster, the students gain invaluable skills, which benefit their career prospects and help those in need of expert legal advice.
“I am pleased to fund the Access to Justice Scholarship for the 2014/15 academic year. Having met Conor McCormick, who received the scholarship last year, and his colleagues today, it is clear that the work of the Ulster Law Clinic is of significant benefit to students and to the wider public, and I commend the students, staff and the university for the excellent service they are providing.”
During his visit the minister met students and staff from the Ulster Law Clinic and heard about the course’s innovative approach to legal education from current postgraduate students.
Professor Denise McAlister, Pm-Vice-Chancellor, Learning, Teaching and Student Experience at the University of Ulster, said: “We are delighted that the Department of Justice is again sup-porting the Access to Justice Scholar-ship as our highly skilled graduates play a vital role in Northern Ireland’s legal system.”
The LLM Clinical Legal Education is the only course of its kind in the UK or Ireland. As well as greatly enhancing their learning experience, it also gives students the crucial practical skills that will significantly enhance both their own career prospects and the wider legal system.
The Department of Justice funding is an important endorsement of our students, their talent and our learning environment.”
Applications to the LLM in Clinical Legal Education close on August 26 and all candidates successful in gaining entry to the course will be invited to apply for the scholarship. For more in-formation on the course visit the university’s website at: www.ulster.ac.uk/lawclinic/course-details.
Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Census of Employment 2013 shows the jobs figure stands at 704,017, an in-crease of 10,934 jobs (or 1.6%) compared to the 2011 Census of Employment.