Margaret Castles, “Marriage of Convenience or a Match Made in Heaven? A Collaboration between a Law School Clinic and a Commercial Law Firm”

This article explores the “reverse externship[s]” where private solicitors attend clinics to assist with the supervision of students within the Australian law school context. Standard legal clinics require supervision, which often manifests in a ratio of 8:1, making supervision more costly than lecturers. The costs associated with legal clinics is a major issue within legal clinics in ensuring accessible and rich student experiences.  However, the “reverse externship” allows lawyers to focus on their supervisory role and may provide a better system for development. The article further discusses the challenges associated with the frequent change of supervisors from a client perspective and the importance of supervisors in the context of student learning.

Margaret Castles, “Marriage of Convenience or a Match Made in Heaven? A Collaboration between a Law School Clinic and a Commercial Law Firm” (2016) 23:2 Int’l J Clinical Leg Educ 7.