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GREENSBORO — The Elon University School of Law opened its Clinical Law Center on Wednesday, giving students a base from which to do volunteer legal work in the community.

“We can teach them in the classroom, do mock situations and watch videos,” said Tom Noble, an assistant professor at the school. “But you can’t learn to swim that way. At some point you have to get into the water. Having a home at the school for students to do this real world work is important.”

After their first year of study, Elon law students can begin working under licensed attorneys, using their classroom knowledge to do things like help prepare taxes, handle landlord/tenant disputes and assist in juvenile mediation.

At the new center at 210 West Friendly Ave.,  students will work with the Wills Clinic to help draft wills for low-income clients referred by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro. The building also will house the Juvenile Intervention and Mediation Clinic.

Starting this semester, the students are working to mediate disputes between students from Ragsdale, Western Guilford, Grimsley and Weaver high schools and those referred by the juvenile justice system.

“This is important experience that isn’t just reciting rules of law,” Noble said. “I would venture to guess that if you can deal effectively with a 15-year-old referred to you from the juvenile justice system, you’ll be able to handle any future business client.”

Associate Professor Margaret Kantlehner works with students drafting wills and helps them get outside internships. She said her students work with groups like The Innocence Project, which reviews death penalty cases, and with North Carolina Legal Aid in sensitive cases like domestic disputes.

Before the new center opened, Kantlehner said students were having to do that work from the school’s library or off-campus.

“These students apply for and receive limited licenses from the North Carolina State Bar, which is our licensing association” Kantlehner said. “They’re also bound to all of the ethical guidelines as practicing attorneys. So this new center provides them a more professional place to meet and be sure they can preserve their clients’ confidentiality and deal with any points that could be private or emotional.”

As essential as the real-world experience is to their learning, Noble said the students’ work was about something more.
“I think having a law license is a privilege and it comes with some responsibilities,” he said. “I’m excited about instilling a real sense of service. I hope students will leave this program with the feeling that pro bono service isn’t just something that’s optional, it’s something they should be doing for their communities.”

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com