Street Law

Street Law is a concept used the world over and was designed to teach people about the law and their rights. Originating at Georgetown University in Washington DC and having massive success in South Africa after being introduced as part of the curriculum, street law has become a worldwide movement aiming to increase peoples awareness to the laws that affect them on a daily basis as well as to develop critical thinking and evaluative skills. It is a movement we at The Law Clinic at GCU are proud to be a part of.

This year we were fortunate enough to host Professor David McQuoid-Mason, a street law academic, at a seminar for our volunteers, where we learned various new tactics to deliver a range of new and existing packs.

Through our Street Law programme we aim to take legal concepts and make them into practical law to schools in the Greater Glasgow area and through interactive sessions help pupils become more aware of the laws that affect them in their daily lives.

The aim of our outreach programme is to help people to:

• Understand the ethics that shape the law
• Gain an understanding of how the law works
• Learn how the law affects them as individuals
• Develop critical thinking and communication skills
• Learn about the legal protections and options that are available to them

Lesson plans we have designed encompass numerous topics such as Human Rights, Employment, Ethical Speed Moots, Computer Misuse, Miscarriages of Justice and Police Powers. If you are interested in having us deliver a session, please feel free to get in touch on lawclinic@gcu.ac.uk. Lessons can be tailored to any age group, from Primary School to College, and we also are open to develop new packs to meet requirements or desires.

Our current Street Law Programme is run by Josephine Christensen and Rebecca Gallagher, the Operations Managers for Outreach.

Our Street Law activities can be seen here.

Outreach Projects

We do various other Outreach Projects, such as our stands on Buchanan Street where we assist shoppers to understand their consumer rights; and a range of charity projects, such as the Access to Justice Foundation Legal Walk. We are also happy to attend careers events at schools and colleges to promote the legal profession and encourage students to take it up.

If you are interested in having us come to any careers event, please email us on lawclinic@gcu.ac.uk and we will do our best to arrange this and tailor it to your needs.