Envisioning the Role of Law School Legal Aid Clubs in Advancing Voluntary Legal Aid in India

Abstract

 The ‘right to free legal aid is a state’s responsibility in India, but, with the rise in demand for legal aid, various challenges emerged, namely the inadequacy of funds and a lack of staff and resources in the hands of legal services authorities. To overcome these pitfalls, voluntary legal aid activities were promoted in India through law school-based legal aid clinics. But, instead of acting as a specialized legal service agency most pro bono clubs and LACs are doing non-legal social work. Hence, the object of bridging the gap between law schools and voluntary legal aid-disseminating advocates isunfulfilled. The present study evaluates the nature of the activities that are being conducted by institutional pro-bono clubs to assess the role of pro-bono clubs and LACs in facilitating voluntary legal aid in India. Lastly, the study best practices by Foreign Country’s law school legal aid to suggest corrective strategies.