Locations: TISS Naoroji Campus, Mumbai; Community Legal Clinic at Sai Shakti Chawl, Mankhurd(west)

Sponsor: United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

TISS Legal Services Clinic was envisaged as an initiative to enable marginalized groups to access justice under Center For Law & Society, School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance. This project is joint initiative of TISS, MSLSA , UNDP and Department of Justice(DoJ). The Panel of lawyers has been working from 2nd August 2014 onwards. The Clinic is run by project coordinator who is professional lawyer and legal consultant and Para legal person from Monday to Friday 10.00 a.m. To 6.00 p.m. On Saturdays panel lawyers visit the clinic. The panel consists of TISS panelists as well as District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) panel lawyers. The panel lawyers provide legal to advice clients who approach the clinic. However, cases needing further intervention and legal representation are referred to the DLSA .The panel sits every Saturday between 11 to 2 for this.

The Students of the LLM course in Access to Justice are seen as an integral part of this intervention where they linked classroom learning to field realities through the clinic. As part of the course requirements, students are placed in various settings, through NGOs. The students are guided though the LSC to provide appropriate legal advice and other legal services. The faculty members guide these students on a regular basis. Cases identified by students, requiring further intervention, are referred to the LSC where a panel of lawyers are available every Saturday.

Objectives:

1. To promote access to justice for the marginalized and vulnerable groups by providing free legal advice, legal counselling, mediation, Legal awareness and legal literacy, assistance in filing RTI applications, accessing Government services, schemes and other legal services to the vulnerable sections of society, by the faculty and students and panel of lawyers of the clinic.
2. To provide experiential and professional learning to the students of LLM in Access to Justice Course, of providing legal services to the vulnerable groups.
3. To simplify and create awareness regarding laws, legal procedures, legal institutions and Government schemes, programs for vulnerable groups
4. To collaborate with and strengthen the State legal services Authority to provide legal services to the vulnerable groups in the society 5. To empower communities to access their rights by linking them to the duty bearers.

Activities

1. Setting up a in campus University based clinic and community based clinics
2. Providing Legal Counseling, advice and services
3. Conducting Legal literacy programs
4. Developing materials for legal literacy:
5. Networking and collaborating with local law colleges, NGOs working for marginalized groups:
6. Workshops on providing legal services to vulnerable groups:
7. Training of para-legal volunteers
8. Strengthening the Services of State Legal Authority
9. Conferences and workshops