The Small Claims Tribunal is not a place where lawyers frequent – they are not permitted to represent any of the parties in proceedings before the tribunals at all. But thanks to the new University Court Friends Scheme, students from NUS and SMU get to experience and learn from a part of the legal process that internships cannot offer.

Proposed and organized by District Judges Mr. Earnest Lau and Ms. Joyce Low, in collaboration with the NUS Pro Bono Group, the scheme allows participants to assist in the procedure of lodging claims. They are also given opportunities to observe mediations conducted at the Subordinate Courts.

More than 30 volunteers have signed up for this scheme that will span 10 weeks.

While the experience varies according to frequency and type of cases presented, the response so far has been encouraging. As Eugene Leong, a current Year 3 student notes, “I picked up some good mediation techniques from the sit-in session with the Assistant Registrar and saw first hand how the cases were handled and ‘edged’ to settlement. It was a great experience.”