Clinical Legal Education and Experiential Learning: Looking to the Future
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i Clinical legal education and experiential learning: Looking to the future Clinical Legal Education and Experiential Learning: Looking to the Future A Report 2016 Dr Vicky Kemp Dr Tine Munk Suzanne Gower Report commissioned by The University of Manchester, the School of Law, 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without prior permission of the copyright holder. 1 Table of contents Foreword Acknowledgements Executive Summary 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Clinical models, experiential learning and pro bono activities .............................................................. 1 1.2 Methods ................................................................................................................................................. 2 2 Clinical legal education in a global context ................................................................................................ 3 3 Clinical legal education in the United States .............................................................................................. 5 3.1 A brief history of clinical legal education ............................................................................................. 5 3.2 Educational theory in experiential learning ........................................................................................... 6 3.3 Three different models of legal advice clinic ........................................................................................ 7 3.4 Recent changes in legal education and legal services ......................................................................... 11 3.5 Innovations in clinical legal services ................................................................................................... 13 3.6 Technology, clinics and the delivery of legal services ........................................................................ 14 4 Clinical legal education and experiential learning in the United Kingdom ........................................... 17 4.1 A brief history of clinical legal education - 1970’s to 2014 ................................................................ 17 4.2 LawWorks findings of clinical activity and pro bono work ................................................................ 18 4.3 Assessment of clinical activity ............................................................................................................ 19 5 Exploring clinical models and pro bono practices on the ground in the United Kingdom................... 22 5.1 Legal education or community service? .............................................................................................. 22 5.2 ‘Teaching Law Firm’ - A fee-generating model? ................................................................................ 26 5.3 New models of clinical activity ........................................................................................................... 28 5.4 Clinical activity within traditional Russell Group law schools ........................................................... 30 5.5 Law schools and pro bono initiatives .................................................................................................. 36 5.6 LawWorks and Attorney General Student Awards ............................................................................. 37 6 Proposed legal education reforms in England and Wales ....................................................................... 38 6.1 Clinics and the regulation of legal services ......................................................................................... 40 7 Public funding, partnership and the delivery of legal services in England and Wales ......................... 42 7.1 Developing partnerships with legal providers ..................................................................................... 44 7.2 The potential for developing local partnerships in Manchester ........................................................... 44 8 Potential innovations in clinical legal education in the United Kingdom............................................... 46 8.1 Clinical work and criminal justice initiatives ...................................................................................... 46 8.2 Innovation and the use of technology .................................................................................................. 49 9 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................... 52 9.1 Law Schools to engage with the legal education reforms ................................................................... 52 9.2 Conducting an empirical study into clinical legal education ............................................................... 53 10 Next steps ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 ii Clinical legal education and experiential learning: Looking to the future 11 Bibliography ................................................................................................ ................................................ 57 APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................................... 66 Clinics involved in this study ............................................................................................................................ 66 United Kingdom Clinics ................................................................................................................................... 66 United States Clinics ......................................................................................................................................... 66 iii Clinical legal education and experiential learning: Looking to the future Foreword In addition the report gives, in the As this report rightly notes we are at a context of likely changes to the required crossroads in terms of the future direction of route(s) for professional qualification, a legal education. Changes to the nature and pragmatic account of how a contemporary structure of the legal profession coupled law school might embrace experiential with demands from and on the academy, learning methods to serve the needs of both students, prospective employers and the future law students and, depending on the wider public inevitably means that attention model(s) adopted, those with unmet legal is now focused on what we, as a society, need. Whilst the report understandably want from our future lawyers and focuses on education and public service it consequently how we might get that. also identifies the potential value of the clinic as a vehicle for scholarly activity and Whilst reviews and discussions have its likely worth when measuring impact for addressed what might be taught (and the purposes of the Research Excellence perhaps learnt) in law schools relatively Framework. In a nutshell the whole provides little attention has been given, at least by a platform for informed choice. non-law teachers, to pedagogic considerations, in terms of how content As one of the post 2000 pioneers in might best be delivered. clinical legal education, with the benefit of the overview and insight that this report At the same time law schools have been provides, the University of Manchester now voting with their feet with an exponential has the opportunity to further realign its law rise in the number of law schools engaging portfolio to cater for academically, with what might broadly be termed as professionally and socially relevant legal learning by doing – or clinical legal st education in the 21 century. education. It is now the exception, rather than the rule, not to see clinical or hands-on Professor Richard Grimes approaches to study featuring as either extracurricular activity or (increasingly) as Former Director of Clinical Programmes, part of the credit-bearing programme. York Law School, University of York and Considering the wealth of educational theory previously Professor and Director of Pro on experiential methods of learning this is Bono Services, The (then) College of Law. perhaps of no surprise albeit that the Richard is now a senior adviser with Les relevant regulators and the legal profession Deux Ltd, an access to justice and have been slow to recognise this crucial part experiential learning consultancy. of the educational formula. September 2016 This report, based on thorough research of the literature and an analysis of clinical activity on the ground at home and abroad, helpfully sets out the advantages of, and challenges presented by clinical legal education. iv Clinical legal education and experiential learning: Looking to the future Acknowledgements It is also important for us to give our This study would not have been possible thanks to the School of Law at the without the support and cooperation of all University of Manchester for funding this those who agreed to participate. We are research project. The study could have been particularly grateful to all those