Clinical Legal Education: More Important Than Ever What Students Say by Thomas F
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357 E. Chicago Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60611 312/503-8576 www.1aw1.nwu.edu INSIDE... Clinical Legal Education: More Important Than Ever What Students Say by Thomas F. Geraghty, Associate Dean of Clinical Legal Education About the Legal Clinic pp. 6-9 ne of the most devastating problems facing our If it were not for our clinical society and our system of program, our law students would Larry Marshall Asks, O justice today is the burgeoning be unlikely to experience the "What Do We Owe People incarceration of young people who juvenile and criminal justice Who Have Been Wrongly are overwhelmingly poor and systems first-hand. They would Convicted?" disproportionally non-white. study basic principles of criminal p.16 Members of the legal profession, law and of criminal procedure; judges, prosecutors, and public they would read about statistics The Children and Family defenders see the tragic parade of and trends, but they would never Justice Center: young people through our courts meet a young person who faces a Fourth Year Report and into our detention centers and life of incarceration or a victim p.21 jails-the result oflack of oppor- who has suffered a loss. They tunity, poor educational systems, would never experience the ways drugs, and lack of support for in which our justice system decides The families in crisis. Our judges and innocence or guilt; they would Community Law Clinic lawyers see the economic and never see the impact of a sentence p.27 social costs of our failures to on someone they know. intervene earlier. The tragedies of victims and offenders are played First-hand experience in address Thank You out in courtrooms. ing the problems of disadvantaged Pro Bono Volunteers, clients in our justice system Adjuncts, Why lead with this? Because the develops skills as well as sensitiv and Donors clinical program is designed to ity to systemic problems. Although pp.9,36,44 provide a well-rounded education the development of skills is impor for future leaders-for those who tant, the creation of a corps of will solve the problems that the practitioners who care about the legal profession, as the guardian of quality ofthe administration of justice, must grapple with. (please tum to p.2) edit & layout: Barbara Reinish News atut Notes D justice is even more important. The most self-reflective programs courses and supervise extemships. clinical program provides skills within law schools. The bulk of case supervision of training, training for the zealous students has been taken over by and ethical practice oflaw, training Another challenge facing clinical younger faculty supported for the for professional responsibility, and programs is that of funding. The most part by grants and by training to recognize and address larger the program, the more attorney's fees. The remaining systemic failures in agencies and significant the challenge. With the challenge is to provide permanent courts. The clinical program demise of the Federal Title IX support for our eight non-tenure supports the education of practi Higher Education Act, which track clinicians, who have the tioners who will make positive funded substantial portions of major responsibility for supervis contributions to society. clinical programs around the ing students on cases. country, many law schools have struggled to maintain their in We are employing a number of the challenges house clinics. Clinicians have, in strategies to meet this challenge. addition to their roles as teachers, First, the clinical program contin he wonderful thing about a assumed the roles of fundraisers, ues to seek more support from the law school clinical program grant writers, and negotiators with University, keeping in mind that Tis that it is always faced law school and university adminis the University has many competing with challenges that keep it trators. Few clinical programs requests for resources. The Univer relevant and vital. have shut down as the result of the sity recently did agree to support cut-back in federal funding. Help one long-term and one short-term There is the challenge of develop has come in the form of creative position in our clinical program. ing a program in which the work alliances with other legal services that students do builds skills and providers, increased support from Second, the Clinic continues its devotion to professionalism. There universities, and generous alumni efforts to secure grant funds to is the challenge of maintaining the giving in response to more aggres continue its work. During the last educational quality of the program sive fundraising efforts. five years the clinical program has and ensuring that it is staffed with obtained grants totaling faculty who enjoy the combination For example, the University of $5,502,749 to support its case of teaching and practice. There is Chicago has just received a large work, supervision, and research. the challenge of practice, shared gift to build a new clinic; Harvard jointly by students and faculty, that has a free-standing legal services Third, the Clinic plans to continue contributes to a unique educational center; Yale renovated its clinic; to earn attorneys' fees. During the experience and provides the raw American University has just last five years, Clinic attorneys material for rich learning. dedicated a new clinic. These have earned $473,462 in statutory schools have also established fees, all of which have been spent Another challenge involves defined term employment relation by the Law School to support its repeatedly explaining and re ships with their clinical faculty. clinical program. During the next defining the goals of a clinical Leading law schools have recog year, we plan to explore whether program. This challenge arises nized the importance of clinical projects within the Clinic might because of the desire of clinicians education to legal education and to become self-supporting through to perfect models of clinical the profession, and they are fees consistent with the Clinic's education and because of the stabilizing and integrating clinical emphasis on student participation critical eye cast on clinical pro programs into their curricula. in the representation of clients. grams by non-clinical faculty Projects in which clients pay fees regarding the value of clinical Northwestern has been a leader in might constructively expand the pedagogy and the resources this effort: it was one of the first Clinic's work into the commercial devoted to it. As such, clinical law schools to place five of its area. programs are usually the most clinicians on the tenure track back often evaluated and, therefore, the in 1976. Now, three tenure-track Fourth, the Clinic will continue its clinicians teach simulation-based efforts to seek annual gifts from DNCIJJ$ a11JI Notes 2 alumni and friends. During the last thoughtful, and reflective profes program in community-based five years, the clinical program has sional lives. These courses also interviewing and counseling gratefully received a total of owe their success to the many training; Angela Coin has pro $173,692 in alumni contributions. adjunct professors whose names vided creative and energetic The clinical faculty will also are listed on pages 36-37 of this leadership for our Community Law continue to seek larger gifts from newsletter, and who give their time Clinic by recruiting and coordinat alumni and friends. To date, the so generously. ing pro bona representation of clinical program has received five children in delinquency proceed endowments which generate an The "live client" portion of the ings and providing a community annual income of $61,455. clinical program also continues to setting in West Town where our thrive, thanks to the dedication and law students can practice. N~w Our fundraising goal is to secure enthusiasm of our faculty: Cynthia projects now under consideration several more endowments to Bowman, Bruce Boyer, Steven involve disability rights, commu support the work of our young Drizin, Laura Miller Eligator, John nity development, and more work clinicians. The clinical faculty Elson, Derrick Ford, Cheryl on behalf of condemned prisoners. hopes to identify donors who might Graves, Zelda Harris, Bill Kell, consider providing the kind of Larry Marshall, and Angela Coin, support necessary to ensure the on the director of our West Town enthusiasm for practice going presence of a strong "real Community Law Clinic. The client" legal services/public devotion of Bruce Boyer, Steven ur clinical faculty believe interest-based clinical program Drizin, Laura Eligator, Derrick that the communication of within the Law School. Of course, Ford, Cheryl Graves, Zelda Harris, Oenthusiasm for practice is an endowment to support any and Angela Coin is made all the an important component of our aspect of the clinical program more remarkable by the fact that educational message. Enthusiasm would be most welcome, as our they labor long hours without any for practice means generating other needs include improved form ofjob security. excitement about lawyering on office space, better computer behalf ofindividual clients and equipment, expert witness fees, Our young clinical teachers are the engendering the belief that a and general litigation costs. most able and talented faculty that practice which includes con any law school clinic could hope to sideration of the policy issues have. In addition to their skills as affecting the public interest will the clinical program teachers and lawyers, they are ultimately be the most satisfying. leaders in their fields. Bruce Boyer We want our graduates to become he clinical program contin is an expert in legal issues on "good citizens" of the legal profes ues to prosper, thanks to family preservation; Steven Drizin sion-lawyers who, during their Tthe wonderful work of has become a local and national professional lives, will work for faculty, staff, and students. Steve leader in the formation ofjuvenile their clients and for justice.