Jennifer A Gundlach, “This is a Courtroom, Not a Classroom: So What is the Role of the Clinical Supervisor?”

This article contains helpful advice on supporting clinic law students in courtroom settings.

It includes several suggestions for exercises and supervisory discussions with the student to enrich the experience, most of which occur at the post-court appearance stage.

The author argues that supervisors should facilitate the development of students’ professional autonomy through theory development, collaborative analysis with peers, problem-solving in the context of simulated situations, and continuous reflection in action. Furthermore, supervisors should reflect and grow from their supervision and teaching through pedagogical dialogue with other clinical supervisors. They must seek out opportunities to observe others in their supervision roles and talk to colleagues about the process to challenge each other and enhance their supervision approaches.

The paper argues that by placing greater emphasis on the curriculum, supervision, and in guided reflection with the students on problem-solving skills related to the uncertainty of the courtroom, clinical supervisors can better achieve the clinical education objective to facilitate the development of students’ professional identity, judgement, and values.

Jennifer A Gundlach, “This is a Courtroom, Not a Classroom: So What is the Role of the Clinical Supervisor?” (2006) 13:1 Clinical L Rev 279.