On Friday 13 June, the UCD Sutherland School of Law hosted a conference entitled “Law in Action: Re-imagining Clinical Legal Education in Ireland”. The convening of the conference was a collaborative initiative of the UCD Sutherland School of Law, the University of Ulster School of Law, the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA) and the Irish Clinical Legal Education Association (ICLEA). The conference sought to reimagine legal education and its contribution to society on the island of Ireland, both North and South.
The conference was broken into four targeted sessions. Session one sought to create an understanding of, “The Significance of Clinical Legal Education for Law Schools”. The session was opened by Prof. Colin Scott, Dean of UCD Sutherland School of Law. Speaking briefly, he touched upon key issues facing law schools in Ireland, including staff – student ratios; making universities more relevant; experiential curriculums; human rights in the community and enhancing the understanding of the wider legal system amongst law students. Prof. Scott then introduced Prof. Michael Martin of Fordham University School of Law drew on the lessons to be learned from the development of clinical legal education (CLE) in the United States. Amongst ten lessons, Prof. Martin gave added emphasis to the importance of redefining core skills and competencies within law school curriculums and increasing experiential learning through various methodologies, including hybrid legal clinics and externships.
Session two, entitled “Internships in Legal Education”, was chaired by Prof. Richard Grimes of York Law School. Dr. David Fennelly, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Legal Education in Trinity College Dublin, gave a concise round up of CLE models in Irish Universities. Dr. Fennelly discussed placement models, the pros and cons of different models of CLE and how universities can learn from their collective experience. Bringing the session to an end, Prof. Grimes conducted an energetic workshop which examined the advantages and disadvantages of externships for all stakeholders involved, including students, law teachers and professors, university management and participating external institutions. The workshop gave an interesting insight into the challenges and opportunities in participating in and facilitating externships as part of CLE.
Session three, entitled “Doing Things Differently - Other Forms of Clinical Legal Education in Ireland”, was chaired by FLAC’s Noeline Blackwell. Ciaran White of the University of Ulster recounted his experience as the Director of the Ulster Law Clinic and Course Director of the LLM Clinical Legal Education. He encouraged other law schools to survey their local landscape to identify areas of unmet legal need that could benefit from university law clinics. On a more cautionary note, Mr. White raised the issue of the dilution of student’s legal knowledge base as a result of greater emphasis on the development of legal skills. Mr. White concluded by emphasising the importance of staff clinician reflection, including revisiting learning styles and scholastic interests.
Speaking on the topic, “Learning the Law in Community Contexts”, Deirdre Malone of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) outlined the dynamic CLE model developed between the IPRT and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). This model is based on the completion of an employment-based PhD within the IPRT. The student undertaking the PhD remains under the academic supervision of DIT but conducts their research within the office of the IPRT. In doing so, both student and organisation benefit greatly from direct access to PhD subject matter and increased research capacity. Ms. Malone outlined the valuable contribution CLE has currently made to the IPRT and from a long term strategic point of view.
Bringing the conference to a close, the heads of Ireland’s law schools, North and South, gave a brief reflection on the future trajectory of legal education in Ireland. Siobhán Leonard of Griffith College Dublin believes law schools must make it a priority to put CLE at the heart of the curriculum. Prof. Michael Doherty of NUI Maynooth emphasised the importance of social and cultural actors in the CLE process. Dr. Eugene McNamee of University of Ulster believes CLE has an important role to play in increasing access to justice and could increase efficiency in the provision of legal advice to those with unmet legal need. Lynn Ramsey of Letterkenny IT emphasised the importance of CLE modules reflecting real life scenarios. Neville Cox of Trinity College Dublin spoke of the coalescence of legal academia and practice, and the benefits that can be extracted from that relationship. Colin Scott of UCD Sutherland School of Law discussed the elements of CLE and whether CLE modules must always be in pursuit of social justice, arguing for a wider, more pluralistic approach. Prof. Ursula Kilkelly of University College Cork spoke of the importance of integrating CLE into both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Bringing the session and the conference to a close Prof. Donncha O’Connell of NUI Galway discussed the importance of diversifying law school faculties to include academics from outside the legal sphere.
For more on CLE in Ireland, see the PILA website here. The live Twitter feed from the conference can be found at #ReimagineLaw.