Category: Legal Clinic as Community

  • Legal Clinic as Community

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    by

    Gemma Smyth
    in

    “A few terms ago there was one student who… came into my office and said they thought they were going to withdraw… They were getting through law school but they weren’t like an A student… So, I talked to the student and said, “Listen, this is a place where everyone can do really well and…

  • Rewards of Clinic Supervision

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    by

    Gemma Smyth
    in ,

    “[O]ne student… was one of the ones that just hung back in the fall and just didn’t do what he was supposed to be doing. By October, you’re having that come-to-Jesus speech. He was really honest and open, and he just said that he was so nervous about the work, that he was afraid to call the clients. You’re looking at their…

  • Legal Clinic as Community

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    by

    Gemma Smyth
    in

    “And lots of times you are getting students who are already quite broken from the shark tank of law school. It’s such a competitive environment… it’s really good see how excited they are to be in a non-competitive learning environment [like the clinic] where it’s about more than just themselves. It’s not about you and…

  • The Clinic as Community

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    by

    Gemma Smyth
    in

    “[I]t was very touching for me when students saw me as a safe space and would confide with me around some of the hardships they were facing. Law school is a very psychologically difficult place, and a lot of our students experience anxiety or had negative experiences with professors or peers and it was just…