CLINICAL LAW PROGRAMS AT U.S. LAW SCHOOLS

The purpose this article is to give an overview of some of the important features of U.S. clinical law programs as a starting point for those Korean law schools that may be considering their own clinical law programs. This is not a manual, but an outline of some of the common features and potential concerns that should be considered when starting a clinical program. Law school clinics and legal clinical education in general, provide law school students an opportunity to combine classroom study with actual practice in a real life setting. Students gain practical experience while working under the close supervision and tutelage of a law professor and/or clinical attorney who guides the student step by step. Students work with real people on real legal problems and are able to do so with limited practice authority granted by the local bar. This limited practice ability, the ability to practice law in a limited highly supervised setting, is a critical feature that makes law clinics attractive to students. Law schools in the United States frequently offer a number of clinical law programs for its participating law students, with some universities offering over thirty choices. Although there are a large variety of courses offered, there are some important features common to all clinics, including staffing, course design, enrollment restrictions, and eligibility. There is no requirement as to what specific clinical programs law schools have to offer, but there are a several types of clinics that are popular among the law schools, including child advocacy, environment, and prosecution and defense to name a few, that may be illustrative for Korean purposes. Finally, this article looks at several factors and concerns that should be addressed when considering the start-up and operation of a law clinic. For example, the clinic’s goals, available resources, and ethical safeguards have to assessed, as well as the student’s ability to practice law, the clinic’s political autonomy, and staffing concerns have to be addressed.