Assessment Day Success
Thu, 19 Sep 2013 16:10:00 BST
The University of Huddersfield’s newly formed Legal Advice Clinic recently held a Competency Assessment Centre to find this year’s Clinic Advisor’s. Taking place over the course of a day the potential candidates were rigorously put through their paces across a number of exercises.
The exercises were especially designed to represent the sort of activities and thought processes that will be required of the students when they are working in the Clinic but also proved a useful selection tool.
At the first stage students were expected to prepare for an interview from brief notes and then spent 15 minutes interviewing a role player in an attempt to elicit relevant information about the case. Following this the candidates had to reflect on the aforementioned interview and write a summary of the meeting to be presented at a mock Clinic Selection Panel Committee. Finally the students were presented with a number of hypothetical scenarios that might arise when working in the Clinic. After considering the legal position the candidates were also asked to think about any ethical issues which arise.
The potential advisors were assessed across a range of competencies including: ethical knowledge, client interviewing, communication in writing, legal research and problem solving. This gave the assessors a lot to think about and ensured that next year’s Clinic Advisors are well-rounded individuals who are ready to become a part of this exciting year for the Legal Advice Clinic.
