Student Experience from the Business Law Clinic at SoL
The Business Law Clinic (BLC) established in 2019 with funding through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (RIF I) is one of the initiatives at Makerere University School of Law (SoL). The overall objective of the Clinic is to enhance the relevance of legal education and practice in addressing the legal needs of indigent persons, low-income earners, and not-for-profit business ventures.
The Clinic is founded on the notion that enhancing access to transactional legal services empowers communities and facilitates inclusive and sustainable development for Uganda. The BLC is also designed as an innovation to expand the use of clinical methods in legal education. Through experiential learning law students tackle issues of economic rights and economic development for community organisations, especially those which cannot afford transactional legal services.
Ms. Aculera shares her experience: I have come to appreciate that studying at law school cannot only be done in conventional way of attending class and reading thereafter, but it can be done –and for the best way to grasp what we study, clinically. Being part of the Business Law Clinic is an opportunity that has exposed me to various concepts such as how the law interacts with business and how these can be used to further social justice. More than that, it follows from the engagements I have had in the clinic that I appreciate the concepts taught in class and how they are practically manifested. It has richly enhanced my knowledge and professional growth as far as blending my knowledge and skills in commercial practice are concerned, thereby making it possible for me to make a contribution in the development of humanity and fortifying fundamental human rights and freedoms; social justice as a whole. Notably, I am more alive to the fact that everyone’s well-being is dependent on solutions that eradicate the various social, and humanitarian problems, which is what the Business Law Clinic seeks to do.
