Category: Well-being
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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…
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Sarah Fishel, Kellie Wiltsie & David DeMatteo, “Certainly Uncertain: Facilitating Law Student Professional Growth and Well-Being through Supervision in Light of COVID-19”
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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…
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Tom Cox, George Kuk & Michael Leiter, “Burnout, Health, Work Stress and Organizational Healthiness”
This chapter explores burnout and work stress. Burnout is “an emotionally depleted state experiences by people in the helping professions” (178). Burnout is highly rooted in social context and determination. On the other hand, work stress focuses on the “interaction between the person and the environment”(179). Work stress exists in relation to the processes that…
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Sarah Katz & Deeya Haldar, “The Pedagogy of Trauma-Informed Lawyering”
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This article discusses the pedagogy of teaching law students to recognize and understand trauma and the effect of vicarious trauma on law students who work with clients who have experienced serious trauma. This article seeks to provide tools for teaching trauma-informed practice in all law school clinic settings. Vicarious trauma, or compassion fatigue, is a…
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Roni Berger & Laura Quiros, “Supervision for Trauma-Informed Practice
This article sets out a series of principles for the supervision of trauma-informed practice. Trauma-informed supervision combines knowledge about trauma and supervision and focuses on the interrelationship between the trauma, the practitioner, the helping relationship, and the context of the work (Etherington, 2009). Ongoing supervision is a major protective factor against vicarious trauma. Supervision for…
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Linden Thomas & Nick Johnson, The Clinical Legal Education Handbook
This handbook is a practical guide for clinicians written by a group of clinicians, clinic professors, and lawyers in the United Kingdom. The handbook consists of seven parts: information regarding legal clinics, regulatory frameworks, assessments, and research on clinical legal education, including the emotional well-beingof clinic members, skill development, and other topics, including supervision. The…
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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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Sarah Buhler, Sarah Marsden & Gemma Smyth, Clinical Law: Practice, Theory, and Social Justice Advocacy
This book addresses the many different features of practice in clinical contexts and helps students reflect critically on their experiences. Students learn from many sources including clients, supervisors, communities, and classrooms in clinical programs. Supervisors are employed by legal clinics, usually lawyers, under whose license student’s practice. Supervisors can provide students with connections between theory,…
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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.…
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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,…