The Duke AIDS Legal Project has been providing free legal assistance to low-income HIV-infected clients since 1996. The AIDS Legal Project offers law students the opportunity to develop practical lawyering skills through direct representation of clients under close attorney supervision. Each semester ten students are enrolled in this clinical law course, delivering over 100 hours of direct client services each. The students receive practical skills training, specialized training in the law relating to HIV/AIDS, and academic credit. Through their work, the AIDS Legal Project fills a critical need for legal representation of some of the neediest clients in North Carolina.
It was serving the unmet legal needs of a highly stigmatized, largely indigent segment of the population that motivated Carolyn McAllaster to start the AIDS Legal Project 10 years ago. Doing so has proven highly educational for students, in terms of teaching superb research, advocacy, and drafting skills, as well as those pertaining to relationship-building, legal ethics, and compassion that mark truly great lawyers.
“We win disability cases with exceptional legal work. It is the —'value added’ that we put into the case that is the key to success,” says Supervising Attorney Allison Rice. In the process of reviewing a doctor’s affidavit, drafted by a student to support a benefits appeal, she points out that it has to precisely address myriad issues before an individual with HIV will be considered disabled by the Social Security Administration.
“It’s extremely challenging to acquire expertise and understanding of a particular client’s medical condition and situation, have an intelligent conversation with a doctor, and then draft an affidavit for the doctor to sign off on.” Doing so involves skills that are “totally relevant” to practice, adds Rice. “Students learn evidence–what can a witness, lay or expert, say, how to lay a foundation for the evidence, and how to provide concrete detail to support conclusions that the witness is making.”
“The AIDS Legal Project does not provide legal advice over the internet. The information on this web site is not legal advice. Legal advice is dependent upon the specific circumstances of each situation and jurisdiction. The information contained on this web site is not guaranteed to be up to date and cannot replace the advice of competent legal counsel licensed in your state.”