DLSU Law Clinic has been a helpful tool in achieving the goal of De La Salle to create a new breed of lawyers who are not only skilled with the law but is also a lawyer who is always willing to do what is good and to be of service to others. It is also very helpful to the students. It is really a good experience for the students, and it makes the students of De La Salle University more holistic and well-rounded.
I believe that my experience in the DLSU Law Clinic was well-rounded as I was exposed to various types of legal aid work such as doing research for clients, making their affidavits, position papers… The main reason why I chose to enroll in DLSU College of Law was because of the school’s passion for human rights. The Clinic provides pro bono legal services to those indigents who are in need of legal aid which is the perfect opportunity for a student to contribute to society.
I thank DLSU Law Clinic for truly developing not only my competence on the actual application of law given a certain scenario but knowing how to be professional and engage your clients with a heart.
Being an intern of the DLSU Law Clinic gave me an opportunity to act on injustices. I was able to help, no matter how small, in strengthening the humanity that makes us human. I was able to make a stand for rights. The fight for human rights isn’t a fight to save criminals. It is a fight to make sure that the law works to protect everyone — not just those with the power to demand for due process and clear their name… As a future lawyer, I will not defend the guilty. I will defend the Constitution. I will defend the rights; I will defend the principle of law.
While I still have the bar exams to hurdle, I know I’m already one step closer to my dream because being exposed to various legal aid missions through DLSU Law Clinic, impressed upon me the heart to serve the right people.
As a law student, I am empowered by my knowledge of the law. The good thing about this empowerment is that I can share it with people who are considered in need of protection from the abusive conduct of people using their knowledge of the law to the detriment of those powerless. These powerless people are sometimes those belonging to the marginal area of the society. Poverty made them ignorant of the very knowledge that empowers them.
The Clinical Legal Education Program helped me see the purpose of what I am doing. Theoretical discussions of rules sometimes seemed to take me away from its real-life application. The DLSU Law Clinic taught me how to apply the laws after studying them. Aside from application, it taught me skills that I’ll need in the legal profession. It taught me how to properly engage with clients and supervising lawyers, how to write, and overall, how to think like a lawyer. Aside from that, it taught me values such as grit and perseverance.
My Law Clinic experience consisted of both advocacy work and legal work which I believe allowed me to have a well-rounded experience and an experience I could actually look back and refer to in the future, when I become a lawyer.
Another thing I learned from this experience was how lawyers are compassionate. At the height of the pandemic, VALOR-19 was created by volunteer lawyers and law students were free to join to answer COVID and quarantine-related queries. I was fortunate enough to have been part of this as I witnessed how dedicated and united the legal profession is in these trying times. Although my participation was cut short as I was almost done completing my DLAC hours, this experience made me want to enter the public service more when I become a lawyer.
Overall, my DLAC experience have been very fulfilling and fun. I was able to go out of my comfort zone by attending outside activities that I would otherwise not go to. I was able to stretch out my 120 hours to different kind of activities that gained me meaningful experience and knowledge.