Law students from St Petersburg University act to protect the rights of citizens deceived by fraudsters
St Petersburg University joins the efforts of public institutions and law enforcement agencies to safeguard the rights of citizens who have fallen victim to telephone fraud. Student interns at the St Petersburg University Legal Clinic will develop professional skills to help Russian citizens affected by scammers.
"Citizens who had been deceived by fraudsters sought assistance at the Legal Clinic before, and they were provided qualified legal advice. Now, we have adopted a systematic approach to helping fraud victims, which includes preliminary training for student interns in this area. For the first time, our clinical education methodology incorporates strategies for effective use of civil legal tools to assist individuals affected by financial fraud. We hope this practice will be successfully adopted by legal clinics at other educational institutions that also work with defrauded citizens," said Viacheslav Nizamov, Director of the St Petersburg University Legal Clinic.
The St Petersburg University Legal Clinic has been providing free legal assistance to citizens since 1998.
Lecturers from St Petersburg University will teach future lawyers how to plan and conduct lawyer-client interviews, how to prepare a package of court documents for defrauded citizens, how legal consultations should be conducted, and how to prepare clients for court hearings. During classes, students will study anti-fraud legislation in depth and analyse relevant court cases.
Training sessions with students will be conducted by the University academics: Viacheslav Nizamov, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Procedure and Criminal Investigations and Director of the St Petersburg University Legal Clinic; Andrei Novikov, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Law; Aleksandr Kuzmenko, Associate Professor in the Department of Labour and Social Law; Marina Mitina, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Procedure; Oksana Vatutina, Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Procedure and Criminal Investigations; Iuliia Kovalevskaia, Assistant Professor in the Department of Commercial Law; Daria Fitsai, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Legal Protection of the Environment; and other experts.
The St Petersburg University Legal Clinic is not only a component of the teaching and learning process and practical training of future lawyers, but also a participant in the programme of free legal aid for citizens facing challenging difficult life situations.
Consultants at the St Petersburg University Legal Clinic will begin accepting applications for free legal aid from St Petersburg residents starting 1 March.
The University Legal Clinic offers free legal advice to the following categories of citizens: pensioners; veterans; unemployed; people with disabilities; adoptive parents; minors; students; and low-income earners whose total income does not exceed 2.5 times the regional subsistence minimum amount. Consultants are available to address questions related to: labour law; civil law; administrative law; civil procedure; housing and social security law.
You can schedule a consultation at the Legal Clinic by phone +7 (812) 363-62-22 (Monday to Friday, from 4.30pm to 6pm) or through the Virtual Reception.