The Taxonomy of Clinics: The Realities and Risks of All Forms of Clinical Legal Education
| Author | Rachel Ann Dunn |
| Published date | 01 July 2016 |
| Date | 01 July 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2322005816640339 |
Essay
The Taxonomy of Clinics:
The Realities and Risks of
All Forms of Clinical
Legal Education
Rachel Ann Dunn1
Abstract
As clinical legal education (CLE) is becoming an increasingly popular form of teaching in law schools
across the globe,2 it is important for institutions to consider the realities and risks of each kind of
model. Certain kinds of CLE may be a very realistic portrayal or simulative of practice, but carry more
risks to those involved. This article explores the realities and risks3 of all kinds of CLE by using an
ordinal scale to measure them. This scale was tested at the 8th Worldwide GAJE Conference in Turkey.
Those who attended the session became the scale themselves, moving and discussing the kinds of CLE
to where they believed they were in terms of reality and risk. This article analyzes the results of that
session, exploring what some clinicians from across the globe think of the realities and risks of CLE, and
whether we can balance them together to provide students with a sound educational experience. As
clinicians, we aim to expose our students to the realities of practice whilst keeping the risks involved to
an absolute minimum so that they gain a practical legal education without any adverse effects.
Introduction
As clinical legal education (CLE) has grown and expanded throughout the globe, research has grown
with it. This research, empirical or theoretical, is to help us justify the work we do and to share our
experiences. This article explores all kinds of models of CLE, focusing on the realities and risks of each.
The reason I chose to look at this particular element of CLE has stemmed from my PhD. My PhD focuses
on live client clinics (LCCs),4 collecting and exploring data on whether and, if so, how these clinics
1 School of Law, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
2 For more information on the international reach of CLE, please see Frank S. Bloch, The GloBal clinical MoveMenT: educaTinG
lawyerS For Social JuSTice (Oxford University Press 2010).
3 The definitions I gave to my participants of what reality and risk means in this context are provided in full in the reasons for my
scale.
4 Students working with actual clients under the supervision of a qualified lawyer in the clinic. These clinics are either on campus
or in an external location. For an example, please see https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/northumbria-
law-school/study/student-law-office/ (last visited December 4, 2015).
Asian Journal of Legal Education
3(2) 174–187
© 2016 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2322005816640339
http://ale.sagepub.com
Corresponding author:
Rachel Ann Dunn, Northumbria University School of Law, City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST,
United Kingdom.
E-mail: Rachel.a.dunn@northumbria.ac.uk
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