The Relationship Between Social Justice and Clinical Legal Education: A Case Study of The Women’s Law Clinic, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

There is a vital connection between legal education, public interest and social justice because lawyers use their education for the benefit of the society. They render their services to those who are unable to afford legal services and in addition, challenge injustice under the justice system. Law students are trained by utilizing the techniques of clinical legal education and they are imbued with a social and professional responsibility to pursue social justice in society.Much of the literature which propounds clinical methodologies in legal education implicitly understands that exposure to a social justice mission within a guided practice setting provides students not only with a key linkage between their legal education and their practice competence, but also with the intellectual foundation for a long-term engagement with the advancement of social justice.The proponents of a social justice dimension and clinical legal education often refer to the “dual goals of hands-on-training in lawyering skills and provision of access to justice for traditionally unrepresented clients”.This paper seeks to explore the relationship between clinical legal education and social justice using the Women’s Law Clinic in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria as an illustration.

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Towards Designing a Validated Framework for Improved Clinical Legal Education: Empirical Research on Student and Alumni Feedback

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2020/v23i0a8144 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 1-31

Author(s):

Stephan Van der Merwe

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Student Evaluation ◽

Legal Education ◽

The Body ◽

Law Students ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Implementation Framework ◽

The University

The pedagogical advantages of employing a Clinical Legal Education (“CLE”) teaching and learning strategy have been acclaimed in literature for almost a century and it continues to be ideally suited to cater to modern education expectations. As an agent for social change, CLE offers law students an effective gateway to participate in, and be influenced by, fundamental social justice problems while it also improves access to justice for the indigent. Though the clinical literature is replete on expected benefits for clinical law students, very little (if any) verifiable empirical research, independently sourced and evaluated, has been published to assess the veracity of these claims in support of CLE. After receiving a funding grant from the University of Stellenbosch Fund for Innovation and Research into Learning and Teaching, the University of Stellenbosch Law Clinic appointed an independent, external agency to conduct empirical research through an extensive measure and evaluation exercise. The aim of the project was to source, document and analyse robust empirical research data about the Faculty of Law’s CLE module, Practical Legal Training 471. The project involved the sourcing and collation of formal student evaluation feedback reports spanning a period of nine years. Additional alumni and current student data were gathered either by online questionnaire or by telephonic interview. The research was aimed at eliciting quantitative as well as qualitative responses. The purpose of this article is to describe the applicable methodology and aims of the research project, to unpack and discuss the resulting empirical data, and to draw certain conclusions based on the findings of this research about CLE’s impact on law students’ experience specifically relating to their practice-readiness and social justice sensitivities. It is suggested that this research will prove both interesting and useful to law teachers involved in relevant programmes at other higher education institutions. The data and evidence detailed herein will assist them to conduct their research and to make substantiated recommendations for the development of CLE programs on a broader national and international level. This research will also add to the body of knowledge on students and student learning and allow for recommendations regarding the creation of a broader implementation framework for improved CLE.

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Lawyering in a Digital Age: A Practice Report on the Design of a Virtual Law Clinic at Cumbria

International Journal of Clinical Legal Education ◽

10.19164/ijcle.v22i3.471 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 334 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ann Thanaraj ◽

Michael Sales

Keyword(s):

Core Competencies ◽

Legal Education ◽

Digital Age ◽

Law Students ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Legal Services ◽

Law Schools ◽

Efficient Manner ◽

New Type

This practice paper offers a modest proposition that could make law graduates more capable of serving their clients in a modernised and efficient manner. We propose that in addition to law clinics and other forms of experiential activities, law schools could add a new type of clinical component to their curriculum that teaches students to use technology to assist in the delivery of legal services. Digital lawyering skills will help law students learn core competencies needed in an increasingly technological profession, and it may help close the gap between offering access to justice by making legal services available online in the most accessible and convenient way possible and in equipping law graduates with a modernised and digital legal education.

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Clinical Legal Education and Democracy in India

10.1093/oso/9780199480654.003.0019 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sital Kalantry

Keyword(s):

Personal Experience ◽

Legal Education ◽

Law School ◽

Law Students ◽

Legal Services ◽

Law Schools ◽

Teaching Clinics ◽

Global Law ◽

The Relationship ◽

Voluntary Basis

Formal clinical legal education programs with instructors teaching clinics in a classroom and practice setting are not common in Indian universities. Few programs in which law students provide legal services on a volunteer/voluntary basis to poor communities. This chapter argues that there are many reasons law schools and universities in India should institute clinical legal education programmes—through these classes, students learn practical lawyering skills and at the same time, students provide assistance to people who could not otherwise afford legal services. One less explored rationale for clinical legal education is the relationship between clinical legal education and the promotion of democracy. Through his personal experience in co-teaching a clinic at the Jindal Global Law School, the author develops the connection between democracy in India and clinical legal education.

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Improving Access to Justice Through Compulsory Student Work at University Law Clinics

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2013/v16i4a2417 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 327

Author(s):

Dave Holness

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Community Service ◽

Legal Education ◽

Law Students ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Student Work ◽

Pro Bono ◽

Criminal Matters ◽

The University ◽

Civil Justice System

In this paper an analysis is offered of compulsory so-called "live client" clinical legal education as part of the LLB as a means of improving access to justice for the indigent. This study first explores the factors which motivate which the establishment of a year’s compulsory community service during the LLB studies, and making clinical legal education compulsory. The motivation includes inducing law students and graduates to aid in the achievement of access to justice. The research then focuses on what the value of community service is in higher education generally. In the South African civil justice system many ordinary people cannot afford to use the courts because of the expense involved, or because they are ignorant of their rights. This is particularly the case in civil as opposed to criminal matters, as legal aid is more frequently focused on criminal than on civil matters in this country. This paper will consider the role which senior law students may play in rendering pro bono work as part of clinical legal education in their LLB studies. In this regard particular focus will be made on the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the only university offering law studies in greater Durban. As for pro bono work by students during their LLB, consideration could be given to making clinical legal education a compulsory part of such students' curricula. Possible compulsory community service for law graduates (ie post-LLB) as envisaged in the proposed Legal Practice Bill falls beyond the ambit of this paper.

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Clinical Legal Education in the 21st Century: Still Educating for Service?

International Journal of Clinical Legal Education ◽

10.19164/ijcle.v1i0.129 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 33 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Judith Dickson

Keyword(s):

Legal Education ◽

Legal Profession ◽

Law Students ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Legal Services ◽

Legal Environment ◽

Direct Experience ◽

Clinical Educators ◽

The One ◽

Disadvantaged People

As a lawyer and clinical legal educator, I have direct experience of the ways in which clinical legal education programmes in Australia2 provide legal services to poor and disadvantaged people. In this context I recently began to wonder about the image of lawyers and of the legal profession, that other clinical educators and I portray in our work and about the values underlying clinical legal education.3 I began to think that despite a longstanding commitment to access to justice,4 clinical legal education in Australia might actually be acquiescing in a notion of professionalism that is counter to that commitment. In this article I explore the connection between the continuing commitment of clinical legal education to the provision of legal services to those unable to otherwise afford them and the notions of professionalism traditionally adopted by the organised legal profession. In doing so I focus on the Australian legal environment as the one with which I am most familiar. However, I believe the issues I raise are relevant for other legal educators concerned about the state of the legal profession in their jurisdictions and about the values which clinical legal education imparts to law students.

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Temporal Trends in Obesity and Chronic disease risks among Young Adults: a 10-year Review at a Tertiary institution, Nigeria

10.21203/rs.3.rs-242072/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Abayomi Olabayo Oluwasanu ◽

Joshua Odunayo Akinyemi ◽

Mojisola Morenike Oluwasanu ◽

Olabisi Bada Oseghe ◽

Olusola Lanre Oladoyinbo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Prevalence Of Obesity ◽

Study Population ◽

Disease Risks ◽

The University ◽

University Of Ibadan ◽

Non Communicable Disease ◽

Ibadan Nigeria

Abstract BackgroundThere is an increasing prevalence of obesity among college/university students in developing countries similar to the trend being observed in industrialized countries. Of great concern is the persistence of weight gain among this young population with the risk of being overweight and obese increasing with years of study and till adulthood. The aim of this study is to describe the trend and burden of overweight/obesity and emerging associated chronic disease risks among adolescents and young adults at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.MethodThis is a 10-year retrospective review of medical records of students (undergraduate and post-graduate) admitted between 2009 and 2018 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. A total of 60,168 participants were analysed. The Body mass index (BMI) categories were determined according to WHO standard definitions and blood pressure was classified according to the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7) ResultThe mean age of the study participants was 24.8, SD 8.4 years. A large majority was ≤ 40 years (95.1%). There was a slight male preponderance (51.5%) with a male to female ratio of 1.1:1; undergraduate students constituted 51.9%. The prevalence of BMI categories was underweight (10.5%), overweight and obesity 18.7% and 7.2% respectively. We found significant association between overweight/obesity and older age, being female and undergoing postgraduate study (p = 0.01). Furthermore, females had a higher burden of coexisting abnormal BMI characterized by co-occurrence of underweight, overweight and obesity. Hypertension was the most prevalent obesity-associated non-communicable disease in this study with a prevalence of 8.1%. Also, a third of the study population (35.1%) had prehypertension. Hypertension is significantly associated with age, male sex, overweight/obesity and family history of hypertension. Other rare obesity-associated diseases include asthma, diabetes, dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis and gallstones.ConclusionThis study identified rising trends in the prevalence of obesity, a double burden of malnutrition among the study population and the emergence of non-communicable disease risks with a lifelong implication on their health and concomitant burden on the healthcare system. Cost-effective interventions are urgently needed at the secondary and tertiary-level educational institutions to address these issues.

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"Our roots began in (South) Africa": Modelling law clinics to maximise social justice ends

International Journal of Clinical Legal Education ◽

10.19164/ijcle.v23i3.532 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 88

Author(s):

Donald Nicolson

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Social Justice ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Legal Rights ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Legal Service ◽

Legal Professionals ◽

Existing Problems ◽

University Of Cape Town ◽

The University

This article explores the ways in which law clinics can be organised to maximise their impact on social justice in South Africa. Such impact can be both direct in the form of the actual legal services offered to those in need or indirect in the form of encouraging law clinic students to commit to assisting those most in need of legal service after they graduate either through career choice or other forms of assistance. The article develops a decision-making matrix for clinic design around two dimensions, each with a number of variables. The first, "organizational" dimension relates to the way clinics are organised and run, and involves choices about whether: (1) clinics emphasise social justice or student learning; (2) student participation attracts academic credit or is extra-curricular; (3) participation is compulsory or optional; (4) clinics are managed and run by staff or students; and (5) there is one "omnibus" clinic structure covering all clinic activities or a "cluster" of discrete clinics conducting different activities. The second, "activities" dimensions involves choices about whether services are: (1) specialist or generalist; (2) exclusively legal or "holistic"; (3) provided only by students or qualified legal professionals; (4) located in community neighbourhoods or on campus; (5) provided by students working "in-house" in a university clinic or in external placements; (6) designed to benefit the wider community rather than just the individuals directly served; and (7) designed to remedy existing problems or educate the public on their legal rights and duties. While not intending to set out a blueprint for existing law clinics, the article argues that, if South African are motivated to enhance their impact on social justice and level of community engagement, they can learn much from the first law clinic to be established in South Africa, at the University of Cape Town, which was entirely student-run, optional and solely focused on ensuring access to justice rather than educating students. Drawing on his experience in adapting this model for use in Scotland, the author looks at the advantages of combining the volunteerist and student owned nature of this clinic with some formal teaching and staff involvement to maximize both the direct and indirect impact of clinics on social justice.

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Acknowledging the relevance of empathy in clinical legal education. Some proposals from the experience of the University of Brescia (IT) and Valencia (ESP)

International Journal of Clinical Legal Education ◽

10.19164/ijcle.v25i2.727 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 218

Author(s):

Andrés Gascón-Cuenca ◽

Carla Ghitti ◽

Francesca Malzani

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Clinical Education ◽

Clinical Training ◽

Legal Education ◽

Social Diversity ◽

The People ◽

Training Plan ◽

New Challenges ◽

The University ◽

Great Development

Legal Clinical Education is experiencing a great development in the Spanish and the Italian university context. Nevertheless, it comes with new challenges that professors have not faced until now: students working in the field with people in situations of vulnerability or in complex realities. Given that one of the major goals of CLE is the preparation not only of professionals for the practice of law, but also people concerned about social justice and social diversity, this piece of research looks into the significance of working with students about the key role that empathy plays in the development of their relation with the people they assist. Moreover, we will suggest some activities to be introduced in the clinical training plan with this purpose, and lastly, we will construct some final thoughts about this research and the feedback we obtain from our clinical colleagues.

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Keeping up with change: no alternative to teaching ADR in clinic. An Australian perspective

International Journal of Clinical Legal Education ◽

10.19164/ijcle.v25i1.694 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

Jacqueline Weinberg

Keyword(s):

Dispute Resolution ◽

Clinical Education ◽

Alternative Dispute Resolution ◽

Legal Education ◽

Law Students ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Legal Practice ◽

Law Schools ◽

The Cost ◽

Client Needs

Over the last 30 years alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has become more prominent in Australian legal practice due to the need to reduce the cost of access to justice and to provide more expedient and informal alternatives to litigation. As legal educators, we need to ask: how should we be preparing law students entering practice for these changes? How can we ensure that once they become lawyers, our students will not rely entirely on litigious methods to assist their clients but instead look at alternatives for dispute resolution?In this paper, I argue that there is no alternative to teaching ADR in clinic in order to address client needs and to ensure that students engaged in clinical education are prepared for changes in legal practice today. I show that the increasing focus upon ADR in Australian legal practice represents a challenge for law schools, and that legal educators need to ensure they are educating students about ADR.I argue that it is important to determine whether ADR is being taught to students undertaking clinical legal education in ways that will enhance their preparation for legal practice. I will show that there is a need to explore: whether ADR is being taught within clinical legal education, the strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches, and how the teaching of ADR within clinics can be improved.

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