Shakespeare famously thought lawyers were the problem. At Sapir Academic College, we think otherwise. A vital and responsive legal system is essential for Israel’s democracy. Legal professoinals must, first and foremost, serve the very people whom law and justice were instituted to protect. As long as every day citizens struggle with a heartless bureacracy or unscrupulous employers, lawyers must be there to step up and do the right thing. That imperative is what guides the legal aid clinic at Sapir Academic College.

An essential part of our Law School, the clinic provides second year law students with hands on, legal expeirience by helping individuals secure their rights when they are unable to do so on their own. Students at the clinic address issues such as public housing, health, labor law and the rights of Israel’s Bedouin population. Now, the clinic’s outstanding work has been recognized by the Israel Bar Association. That prestigious instiution has  awarded their annual “Do Justice and Love Mercy” prize to the City of Beer Sheva for legal assistance to the community, with special mention for Sapir’s clinic and our dedicated legal volunteers.

Attorney Iris Beyer, head of the legal aid program for Bedouins, and Attorney Gali Tal-Vollozhny, head of the social rights legal aid program, believe their student volunteers exemplify what Sapir is all about. “Our law school is the youngest law program in Israel. We want to bring a new spirit to the entire profession. If there’s one thing we want or students to learn above all else, it is that law exists to serve the people.”

 

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