The proficient lawyer”: identifying students’ perspectives on learning gained from working in a virtual law clinic

This paper seeks to identify the extent to which a Virtual Law Clinic (VLC), used as learning and training tool for undergraduate law students contribute to the development of skills and attributes of “the digitally proficient new lawyer”, looking at this from the lived experience and narration from the students involved in this training. It questions the types of skills and attributes that are perceived by students to be capable of being developed through the VLC and uses the perception of students’ employability skills, personal attributes and values gained from working on the VLC platform to provide useful and significant insight into further improvements and developments to the structure and curriculum of the VLC. The value of students’ perspectives in this regard is significant because the study captures their lived experiences, their thoughts, reflection and awareness of development. The findings show that students have gained benefits to their and have had the opportunity to gain an insight into the changing and emerging trends in legal practice and thereby raising awareness, recognition and experience of the skills needed by a digitally proficient lawyer or professional in the workplace.