Designing and delivering clinical legal education

Julian Webb, University of Westminster

This teaching resource note provides an introduction to some critical design and delivery decisions associated with developing clinical programmes, organised around a set of 10 frequently asked questions (FAQs) exploring:

• the advantages in general ascribed to clinical methods
• the types of clinic and their respective pros and cons
• the pedagogy of clinical instruction and some key staffing, resourcing and assessment issues

For those interested in exploring the topic further, the appendices include a number of weblinks and references to further reading. (Note: this teaching resource note was produced in 2004. Julian Webb is now UKCLE Director.)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is clinical legal education?
2. What forms can clinic take?
3. Do all clinical models have the same objectives?
4. Should I choose live client work or simulation?
5. In-house vs externship programmes?
6. Are work placements different?
7. Aren’t clinics too expensive?
8. What about supervision?
9. How should clinical work be assessed?
10. Is it all worth the effort?

Appendices

1. Setting up a live client clinic: a design checklist
2. Weblinks, references and further reading

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Roger Burridge and Tracey Varnava at UKCLE for their helpful feedback and suggestions on an earlier draft, and to Kermit Lind, Clinical Professor and Staff Attorney, for sharing his experiences of the Community Advocacy Clinic at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, USA.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010