Douglas D Ferguson, “Supervision in the Clinic Setting: What We Really Want Students to Learn”

This article discusses the key elements of student supervision in Community Legal Services at University of Western, Ontario. The paper begins by examining the clinics compliance with the supervision requirements of the profession’s governing body. The Law Society of Ontario set out supervision requirements for legal clinics in Rule 6.1 and by-law 7.1 of the Law Society of Ontario.

The clinic utilizes several methods to ensure that students are doing quality work. Supervising lawyers review all incoming and outgoing documents, supervisors review weekly file progress reports, supervisors review students docketed time, and supervisors and students work together during one duty hour per week in the clinic. Duty hours are a time when students, supervisors, and first-year law student observers gather to partake in intake interviews or discuss issues with a file; these are group-based discussions that allow an opportunity to give supervisors some time to deal with file issues. This allows for face-to-face contact. In addition, students and supervisors meet regularly, and supervisors engage in monthly clinic staff meetings. The clinic utilizes a student supervisor program, which allows a number of students who worked full time during the summer to act as a resource for fellow students during the clinic term. Although they do not have a supervising role in the file work, they act as liaisons if students are experiencing any problems. 

Douglas D Ferguson, “Supervision in the Clinic Setting: What We Really Want Students to Learn” (2019) 26:1 Int’l J Clinical Leg Educ 158.