International Journal of Clinical Legal Education

Editorial

Lyndsey Bengtsson — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Law firms as learning environments

Caroline Hood — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article explores the impact of Higher Apprenticeships in Law in England on clinical legal education and the evolving pedagogy of using the legal workplace as a site of learning. While existing literature has addressed elements of work-based legal learning and clinical pedagogy separately, there remains a significant gap in understanding how the apprenticeship model interacts with – and potentially reshapes – clinical legal education frameworks. Drawing on the author’s extensive and long-standing experience within the Northumbria University Student Law Office, one of the UK’s leading law clinics, this article offers a practitioner-informed perspective on how Higher Apprenticeships are influencing the design, delivery, and pedagogical assumptions of legal education. It sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities of integrating structured workplace learning into academic clinical environments, offering original insights into how these dual systems can be aligned to better support student development and ethical practice. In doing so, this article makes an original contribution by bridging the theory-practice divide and identifying practical strategies for enhancing clinical pedagogy in the context of legal apprenticeships.

The article argues that the NU Solicitor Apprenticeship presents a unique opportunity to innovate clinical legal education by integrating work-based learning with established clinical methodologies. It demonstrates how the apprenticeship model can deliver the same pedagogical benefits as traditional clinics, such as ethical awareness, research, teamwork and independent learning, while also deepening engagement with the legal profession. This integration has the potential to enrich both clinical programmes and professional relationships, positioning legal clinicians to lead in shaping the future of legal education.

Collective advocacy in the age of neoliberalism: Getting political in an interdisciplinary law clinic

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Background: In a context of neoliberal policies where social, health and legal services are increasingly scarce, legal or interdisciplinary clinics can play a pivotal role in defending the rights of the most marginalized, in addition to training students on the structural and political dimension of the law and social-work practices.

Purpose: Based on students’ experiences of collective advocacy at the Outaouais Interdisciplinary Social Law Clinic Law Clinic, this article explores the nature and impact of learning through community engagement and collective advocacy.

Methodology: A case study conducted through semi-structured interviews with 9 clinic students and analyzed using an inductive approach.

Findings/Conclusions: The learning experiences transform students’ conception of justice, by integrating the basic needs of all community members along with ending oppressive police and judicial practices, but also the role they wish to play as future professionals for social justice.

Implications: These findings demonstrate the importance of addressing the political dimension of higher education.

Preparing Lawyers for Global Legal Practice - A Road Map for Introducing Mandatory Continuing Legal Education in India

Yashomati Ghosh, Anirban Chakraborty — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Globalization has led to opportunities for legal professionals to engage beyond national boundaries in advising and representing their clients making legal practice a global affair. But the prospect of this global legal practice has met a strong protectionist counter as ‘Right to legal practice’ in a country has been conventionally right of its citizens only. To this extent the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of A.K Balaji v. Bar Council of India (2018) had held that right to practice of law in India including international law and matters concerning foreign laws should be exclusively limited to Indian citizens. However, some members of the legal and academic fraternity have expressed concerns about the competence of the Indian lawyers to meet the professional demands of global legal practice. It has also been widely canvassed that the restriction on foreign lawyers will cause a serious vacuum and strain on the legal system. In recent years the debate over entry of foreign lawyers have again come into prominence with the introduction of Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022 and the draft bill for amendment of the Advocates Act (2025). Correctness and feasibility of allowing entry of foreign lawyers in India is subject of a separate debate, but in this paper the objective is to analyse the opening up of opportunity for Indian lawyers to engage in the global legal practice and preparing them to encounter its challenges. Introduction of an effective and mandatory system of Continuing Professional Legal Education (CLE) has potential to make Indian lawyers partake this new professional role. CLE is a recognized tool for professional development of lawyers. Its objective is to augment the information, integrity and confidence of lawyer to enhance new skills, knowledge and competence to cope with the changes in the legal order. The paper recommends design of an effective CLE curriculum to strengthen the skills and competence of Indian lawyers for meeting the demands of global legal practice.

Bridging the Gap: Law Students as Agents of Public Legal Education and Community Empowerment

Anil Balan — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article explores the critical role of law schools in advancing Public Legal Education (PLE) and the unique contributions of law students in fostering a more legally literate society. By examining the impact of law students as ‘Street Law’ teachers, the article highlights how these programmes not only benefit communities through increased legal awareness but also enhance students' practical skills and legal consciousness. The discussion extends to PLE initiatives in non-traditional settings, such as prisons, where legal education contributes to rehabilitative cultures and supports reintegration efforts. The incorporation of legal capability and the Capabilities Approach into PLE is proposed as a means to enrich these programmes, ensuring they are more effective in empowering individuals. The article also addresses the challenges and importance of evaluating PLE programmes, reviewing successful models and offering recommendations for future assessments. Ultimately, the article calls on law schools to deepen their commitment to PLE, emphasising the need for strategic expansion and innovative partnerships to build a more legally literate society. Future research directions are suggested, focusing on the long-term impact of PLE and its potential to enhance legal education. Through these efforts, law schools can fulfil their vital role in promoting legal literacy and social justice.