SDCL § 16-18-2.1: Legal assistance by law students--Purpose of provisions.

The bench and the bar are primarily responsible for providing competent legal services for all persons including those unable to pay for these services. As one means of providing assistance to lawyers and to encourage law schools to provide field placement instruction in legal work of varying kinds, §§ 16-18-2.2 to 16-18-2.10, inclusive, are adopted. For the purposes of §§ 16-18-2.1 to 16-18-2.10, "extern" means a student in a field placement program for academic credit offered by a school of law in accordance with the American Bar Association Standards for Approval of Law Schools, including a participant in the public service pathway program pursuant to chapter 16-16A, and "intern" means any other student providing legal assistance under the supervising lawyer.