The Director of the Legal Clinic at St Petersburg University awarded the Mikhail Speransky Medal
The award was presented to Viacheslav Nizamov by Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Konstantin Chuychenko during a meeting with representatives of higher education institutions on the occasion of the Lawyers Day.
The Mikhail Speransky Medal is a departmental award of the Ministry of Justice, which is awarded for participation in the development of civil society, improvement of legislation, and development of legal science and education.
As the Director of the Legal Clinic at St Petersburg University, Viacheslav Nizamov works to improve the system of free legal services in our country and develop legal education using the most modern methods of practical training of future lawyers. Viacheslav Nizamov became the head of the University’s Legal Clinic in 2019. Under his guidance and with the help of lecturers, future lawyers gain important practical work experience: they conduct receptions of citizens, analyse real legal issues, provide legal advice, and draft legal documents. Thanks to the training at the Legal Clinic of St Petersburg University, students who have worked as legal advisers during their studies, by the time they graduate from the University, already have work experience that is as close as possible to real legal practice.
The Legal Clinic at St Petersburg University is the first of its kind in the country. It was opened in August 1998. Since then, about 20,000 people have found answers to their legal questions with the help of lawyers from St Petersburg University.
Mariia Kulikova, Lecturer at St Petersburg University, was also awarded an honorary certificate from the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Mariia Kulikova’s research interests include: philosophy of law; sociology of law; the study of judicial practice as exemplified by the interaction of tax and criminal law norms; the theory of judicial reasoning; and constitutional justice.