Legal education in the US, case study method of training, and public interest litigation

Abstract

In the US the medium of instruction at law schools is the case law method that was inaugurated by the Harvard university and which teaches both the substantive law and procedural rules. There has been criticism of this form of legal education because it is considered as overly academic, despite its clinical training and emphasis on preparing students for the private sector, There is scope for induction in public interest litigation in the ABA approved law schools that teach the Juris Doctor that is followed by the State Bar examination.  The question posed by this paper is whether the legal training is exclusively intended for the market or if the clinical legal education programmes in law schools offer the opportunity for those students who want the experience of practice in the public sector. This enables the newly qualified attorneys to become part of non profit ventures when they become practitioners and they can provide their expertise in public interest litigation. The argument here is that there is an increasing access to justice modules available by means of involvement in clinical legal education that are an extension of the case law method of study, but that they lead to debt problems for students post qualification, and a means has to be found for the concession for students who study law from less privileged backgrounds.