Category: Professional Development
-
Lack of supervisor training
“Interviewer (I): How did you learn about being a supervisor in a clinic? Clinic Supervisor (CS): By doing it. Both: [Laughs]. CS: Yeah, there was no training. I was just a lawyer… Is there training for supervisors? I’ve never even heard of that.” (1)
-
Timothy Casey, “Reflections on Legal Education in the Aftermath of a Pandemic”
This article suggests that although some law school courses can be taught online, experiential courses and clinics are not fit for the online space given the specific learning outcomes and in-person benefits, particularly concerning well-being. Online clinics hindered the opportunities for students to benefit from their teachers as mentors, observational opportunities were limited, individual instruction…
-
Sarah Fishel, Kellie Wiltsie & David DeMatteo, “Certainly Uncertain: Facilitating Law Student Professional Growth and Well-Being through Supervision in Light of COVID-19”
—
by
This article sets out a series of strategies that can be implemented in clinical supervision, focusing on well-being as part of professional development. Supervision models frequently contend that students should be active participants in their legal education. Generally speaking, supervision models advance methods that empower students to learn that effective action comes from thought and…
-
Ross Hyams, “On Teaching Students to ‘Act like a Lawyer’: What Sort of Lawyer?”
This article argues that generations of law students are not prepared for the practice of law. Clinical legal educators seek to teach practical legal skills to students; however, they also have the ability to teach students professionalism and, ultimately, how to be lawyers. This requires teaching students how to act, not just how to think.…
-
Patrick C Brayer, “A Law Clinic Systems Theory and the Pedagogy of Interaction: Creating a Legal Learning System”
This article explores several techniques to maximize student experience based on professional interactions in the law school clinic. It further sets out a pedagogical approach to clinic design and teaching by advancing a clinical systems theory, explaining how law students develop and grow by interacting with their learning system environment, including teaching students how to…
-
Leah Wortham, Catherine F Klein & Beryl Blaustone, “Autonomy-Mastery Purpose: Structuring Clinical Courses to Enhance These Critical Educational Goals”
This article examines how clinical law teachers can use intrinsic motivation and theories to improve the quality of law student’s learning. The underlying theory assumes that people interact constantly and dynamically with their surroundings rather than predictably. However, other theories, including the self-determination continuum, as replicated below, provide insight into how a law student might…
-
Laurel E Fletcher & Harvey M Weinstein, “When Students Lose Perspective: Clinical Supervision and the Management of Empathy”
This article examines how law students and lawyers manage the emotional content of their work. Clinical supervisors can enhance the supervisory process by helping law students recognize, discuss, and interpret the emotional experiences of working with clients. Skilled supervision regarding emotions is essential in training law students to manage empathy and identification with a client,…
-
Jeff Giddings, Reciprocal Professional Development: Enhancing Law Student Supervision in Practice-based Contexts
This report examines the Effective Law Student Supervision (ELSS) Project which is concerned with issues related to professionalism and legal education with focus on enhancing the experiences of law students and supervisors involved in clinical programs in law schools as well as externship arrangements. Central to the project is effective supervision, focused on achieving articulated…
-
Brook K Baker, “Learning to Fish, Fishing to Learn: Guided Participation in the Interpersonal Ecology of Practice”
This article argues that an ecological learning theory should be applied to legal clinics. Ecological learning theory emphasizes the value of meaningful co-participation in tasks, mutual respect from supervisors and peers, and responsiveness from the larger social environment. Ecological learning theory suggests that students can be relatively independent and self-directed learners. Supervisors do not have…
-
Margaret Castles & Carol Boothby, “What Hat Shall I Wear Today? Exploring the Professional and Ethical Implications of Law Clinic Supervision”
This chapter proposes that it is valuable for clinical supervisors to identify and understand their various roles with respect to their associated professional expectations to ensure that they adopt a mindful and balanced approach to supervision. Clinical supervisors hold many roles: legal practice manager, senior lawyer, risk manager, assessor of written work and performance, counsellor,…