Promoting Clinical Legal Education and Democracy in India
Clinical legal education emerged in the United States in the 1960s to givevaluable skill-based instructions to law students while providing legal servicesto people who could not otherwise afford them. This essay proposesanother reason why both Indian and American law schools should supportthe development of law clinics. Drawing on the works of John Dewey andMartha Nussbaum, I argue that clinical legal education promotes democracy.Both elite American and Indian universities are largely unrepresentativeof the respective population demographics of their countries. In clinics,law students bridge this divide by undertaking representation for peoplefrom different racial, caste, and income backgrounds than themselves.These exchanges generate empathy and knowledge among students aboutthe challenges marginalized groups in the society.face. Consequently, theylearn to recognize other citizens as equals and to formulate policies thatwill enhance the welfare of society(y as a whole. There is an urgent needto formalize clinical legal education programs in Indian law schools bothfor purposes of enhancing the democracy as well as providing skill-basedtraining to law students and much-needed legal services to the poor.Published: Promoting Legal Education and Democracy in India, 8 National University of Juridical Science 1 (2015).