Course Catalogue

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The pursuit of racial justice has been brought to global consciousness by social movements shaped by political and socio-economic shifts and events. They raise difficult and urgent questions about the historical and contemporary relationship between law and race - examining both its complicity in producing and reinforcing structures of power, influence, and decision-making that lead to racialised discrimination, and its potential as a tool for transformative social change.

This law clinic course sits at the intersection of theory and practice, taking an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the systems and structures that perpetuate racial injustice and the legal, historical, and social contexts in which these injustices occur. Drawing on movement lawyering and community-based lawyering theories, students will work with grassroots organisations to better understand how lawyers challenge unequal power structures and address systemic human rights abuses in practice. Under the supervision of lawyers and caseworkers, they will develop legal, research, and advocacy strategies to support and empower communities. Ultimately, the course engages students to critically examine and reimagine the role of law and lawyers in movements for racial justice.

This course will consist of 10 2-hour in person seminars and clinic project work sessions.

For information, clinic project work as part of the course might include:

■ Strategic casework, for example, assisting with the provision of legal advice;

■ Public legal education, including the development and delivery of materials or workshops, focusing on rights awareness and legal empowerment;

■ Legal research on points of law raised by community partners and other relevant matters; and

■ Drafting reports that offer evidence-based recommendations for policy change, informed by community needs.

The course is open to students on both the Scots and Common law LLB programmes.

Students are expected to have enrolled and participated in the Level 4 Access to Justice in Theory and Practice (LAW4155) course before undertaking the Clinic. If a student has not met the assessment requirements of the pre-requisite course in circumstances where good cause has been accepted, then the course convenor may exercise discretion to allow that student to participate in the Clinic.

 Students will only be permitted to undertake one GO Justice law clinic honours course over their two years of Honours study. As of 2025/26, the GO Justice law clinic courses available to students are:

■ Emma Ritch Law Clinic Project

■ Housing and Homelessness Law Clinic

■ Lawyering for Social Change: Racial Justice Clinic

None.

The summative assessment consists of two components.

The first component, worth 30%, is an individual reflection on a group-based presentation of a Strategy for Social Change. Over the course of the Semester, students will work in groups to design a strategy for social change based on a priority theme identified by a community partner organisation. The individual reflection will take the form of a 20-minute oral viva-style presentation, focusing on students' personal learning journey during group work. Students will be given guidance in advance on the format of the exam, and questions for discussion will be pre-circulated. 

The second component, worth 70%, is critical reflection essay (3,000 words). Students will select a topic aligned with the course ILOs and critically analyse the issue using relevant academic literature and case law on movement and community-based lawyering and racial justice, while critically reflecting on the ethical and social responsibilities of lawyers as a result. Students are encouraged to incorporate any relevant reflections from clinic project work.

Students should note that guidance will be provided on reflective assessment, including in the form of individual feedback to the formative assessment outlined below (reflective journal entry).

This clinic course aims to equip students with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in addressing racial injustice through relevant socio-legal literature, case law analysis, and supervised clinical project work. Students will develop an understanding of the systems and structures that perpetuate racial injustice in Scotland and the legal, historical, and social contexts in which these injustices occur by:

1. Critically engaging with sources of knowledge on race and racism and their impacts on communities across diverse contexts.

2. Critically reflecting on legal responses to racial injustice, including human rights and equality law, and assessing their effectiveness through application to simulated and live clinic casework.

3. Developing an understanding of movement lawyering, and an awareness of different tools for social change.

4. Engaging in structured and supervised project work with grassroots, community-based organisations to build sustainable legal knowledge, resources, and strategies that assert rights, challenge systemic injustices, and drive social change.

5. Encourage critical reflection on the role of law and lawyers in social movements.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, historical, and social contexts that contribute to racial injustice in Scotland and their impacts on marginalised communities. (ILO 1)

■ Critically assess the strategic, ethical, and political dimensions of movement and community-based lawyering in the context of movements for racial justice. (ILO 2)

■ Identify, apply, and evaluate legal and advocacy strategies in both simulated and live casework. (ILO 3)

■ Demonstrate applicable transferable legal skills, including research, analysis, and the provision of advice on human rights and equality issues affecting communities facing discrimination and barriers to justice. (ILO 4)

■ Reflect critically on the ethical and professional responsibilities of lawyers in movement lawyering and the potential (and limitations) of law as a tool for social change. (ILO 5)

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.