The Best Practices for Legal Education (2007) publication of the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) represents the fruit of 25 years of rich dialogue among American law teachers, lawyers, and judges, regarding the education of lawyers. In the foreword is stated that the American Bar Association convened a 1984 conference ‘Legal Education and the Profession: Approaching the 21st Century’. The foreword further states that in 1987 Justice Rosalie Wahl of the Minnesota Supreme Court and Chair of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar rhetorically asked:
Have we really tried in law school to determine what skills, what attitudes, what character traits, what quality of mind are required of lawyers? Are we adequately educating students through the content and methodology of our present law school curriculums to perform effectively as lawyers after graduation?
The purpose of this elaborate prologue is to convey the credible nature of the three modes of experiential education identified in Chapter 5: Best Practices for Experiential Courses (pp 121 – 152, note that the page numbers of individual online chapters differ from the full publication) of the CLEA Best Practices for Legal Education (2007: 122), namely:
- In-house law clinics offering students opportunities to represent clients or perform other professional roles under the supervision of members of the faculty
- Externships — where students represent clients or perform other professional roles under the supervision of practicing lawyers or they observe or assist practicing lawyers or judges in their work
- Simulation-based courses granting students hypothetical situations to assume professional roles and perform law-related tasks
These three modes, although many different terms are used, are common in many disciplines, for example:
- Practicals, laboratory work, applied field experiences facilitated and managed by lecturers
- Work-integrated/experiential/work-based learning in the occupational field under supervision of an experienced practitioner
- Simulated learning providing experience in hypothetical situations
Brayne, Duncan and Grimes (1998: 244) address externships as a means for law students to obtain a credit “working in legal settings”. It is interesting to note that “in the United States, students may not receive financial compensation for work which warrants educational credit”. Brayne, Duncan and Grimes (1998) identify both advantages and disadvantages with regard to externships. Potential advantages include “lower costs, variety of opportunities, work experience, service to the community, and flexibility”. As far as disadvantages are concerned, the main one identified is the potential “lack of control over the quality of the educational experience”.
Brayne, H; Duncan, N & Grimes, R. 1998. Clinical legal education: active learning in your law school. London: Blackstone.
Stuckey, R & Others. 2007. Best Practices for Legal Education. United States: Clinical Legal Education Association. Retrieved 2 November 2011 from: http://www.cleaweb.org/best-practices -- note the hyperlink to the best practices blog at the bottom of the web page.
Comments