Category: Clinical Legal Education – United States
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Deborah Burand et al, “Clinical Collaborations: Going Global to Advance Social Entrepreneurship”
This article chronicles a transactional clinic collaboration between three clinics in the US seeking to advance social entrepreneurship globally. The article discusses why collaboration was used, the structure of the program, what the collaboration offers clients and participating law students, how the collaboration has expanded the skills and knowledge of the three clinical directors, and…
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Susan Bryant, “The Five Habits: Building Cross-Culture Competence in Lawyers”
This article demonstrates how developing the Five Habits increases cross-cultural competence and the methods clinical teachers can use to have more inclusive conversations while building cross-cultural skills. The Habits can be used to avoid cultural blinders and recover from cultural blunders. The Five Habits are: Teachers can develop these habits and cross-cultural competence in students…
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Mary Lynch, “Importance of Experiential Learning for Development of Essential Skills in Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Effectiveness”
This article examines the importance of cross-cultural misunderstandings within the lawyer-client relationship, a relationship which requires trust. Intercultural effectiveness is critical for law students to learn because of the significant consequences that flow from cross-cultural misunderstandings in relationships within law practice. It may result in interference with rapport, problem-solving, and peacemaking. Cross-cultural misunderstandings may unintentionally…
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Bill Ong Hing, “Raising Personal Identification Issues of Class, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Physical Disability, and Age in Lawyering Courses”
This paper describes how personal identification issues are raised in three different lawyering classes, one of which is an immigration clinic, and how issues of identity difference can be raised more effectively. In this immigration clinic course, students meet weekly in a group and with supervising attorneys to discuss their work. The group meeting consists…
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Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, “Making and Breaking Habits: Teaching (and Learning) Cultural Context, Self-Awareness, and Intercultural Communication through Case Supervision in a Client-Service Legal Clinic”
This article discusses the teaching and learning of cultural knowledge, awareness, and skills in clinical programs through a variety of methods, including research, reading, roleplay, case rounds, observation, and group discussion. The article offers teaching objectives that can be used to focus supervision and education on effective representation of clients from a variety of cultures.…
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Anne D Gordon, “Cleaning up Our Own Houses: Creating Anti-Racist Clinical Programs”
This article seeks to guide legal clinics to self-evaluate regarding how clinics perpetuate racism unconsciously. This article offers concrete suggestions for implementing change. Law schools are homes to white supremacist culture. Beliefs, values, norms, and standards support the widespread ideology that whiteness holds value. Characteristics of this culture include: perfectionism, either/or thinking, quantity over quality,…
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Michael John McNamara, Supervision in the Legal Profession Regulatory Framework
In this chapter, the author examines the regulatory supervision regimes, particularly within Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Australia has no student practice rules for students engaged in experiential learning opportunities such as clinical programs. Often, these programs operate outside student practice rules; thus, the regulatory framework in place treaties law students the…
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Robert L Jones Jr, Gerard F Glynn & John J Francis, “When Things Go Wrong in the Clinic: How to Prevent and Respond to Serious Student Misconduct”
This article provides clinical professors with information and an analytical framework to deal thoughtfully with situations of student misconduct in clinical settings. A survey of clinical professors found that most incidents of student misconduct fell into one of three categories: egregious neglect of case responsibilities, dishonest or deliberate misuse of a student practice license (including…
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Nancy M Maurer & Robert F Seibel, “Addressing Problems of Power and Supervision in Field Placements”
This article examines the power dynamics that exist in the supervision of law students in legal clinics. The authors explore the potential consequences of failing to address the issues arising from those dynamics, including ethical ramifications, termination of the program, or possible worksite sexual harassment. This paper suggests that supervision is the primary vehicle for…