Advocating for Clinic from the Outside Lessons from

Advocating for Clinic from the “Outside”: Lessons from the Coalface in Ireland Larry Donnelly Manager, Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA) (www. pila. ie) Lecturer & Director of Clinical Legal Education, School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway (on leave 9/2010 -9/2012) (www. nuigalway. ie/law) International Journal of Clinical Legal Education Conference Durham, UK, July 2012

The Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA) o engendered by a 2005 international conference on public interest law o founded by the Free Legal Advice Centres Ltd (FLAC), a 40+ year old human rights organisation promoting access to justice o PILA’s remit: to advance the use of law in the public interest in Ireland

PILA’s work to advance public interest law in Ireland o engage with non-governmental organisations/mobilise legal practitioners o pro bono register o support the alliance: communications and events o lobby law schools re: Clinical Legal Education

PILA’s efforts to develop and expand Clinical Legal Education o outreach to third-level institutions and professional law schools o promoting Clinical Legal Education programmes and teaching of public interest law o today’s law students are tomorrow’s senior counsel, managing partners and judges

Clinical Legal Education in Ireland o still lags behind other jurisdictions o denominated clinical posts and externship-based clinics at the National University of Ireland, Galway and University College Cork o clinical offerings at other third-level institutions and professional schools o new clinical programmes planned (e. g. , University College Dublin)

PILA working from the “outside” o guest lectures to classes and presentations to student societies o meetings with law school deans and other interested academics o publication of law journal articles and delivery of conference papers o but. . . still on the outside

Obstacles PILA has encountered o lack of resources (Irish students pay very little in fees, cuts in government funding, dearth of philanthropic sources and alumni giving) o ill-fitting structures (rise of the Ph. D. as the sine qua non, loss of law school autonomy, uncertain future of professional legal training) o *inconsistent clinical pedagogy*

Defining “Irish” Clinical Legal Education – 1 o academic credit for participation o “It was, and is, apparent that course credit in the academic world is the equivalent of money in our society. Course credit is the medium of exchange, incentive, and measure of value of certain matters and things. The more credit awarded, the greater the time and effort invested by students and faculty supervisors. ”

Defining “Irish” Clinical Legal Education – 2 o focus on experiential learning o “The placement demonstrated for me the limits of the law and how, within its confines, there is very little place for the victim and the victimised. The person is sometimes invisible. The law can only extend so far. . . ”

Defining “Irish” Clinical Legal Education – 3 o promote social justice and protect human rights o “What makes clinical legal education a global phenomenon is the worldwide importance of its ultimate goal: preparing future lawyers for highquality, ethical law practice grounded in a legal profession dedicated to social justice. ”

PILA’s next steps o moving “inside”: partnership with NUI Galway School of Law o establish Irish Clinical Legal Education Association (ICLEA? ) o formalise links with clinicians internationally o international conference in Galway – yet focus on development of clinical legal education within Ireland

Why are we doing this? o “It [the clinical movement] is the commitment to developing, testing, adapting, comprehending, and explaining a practical conception of justice in action, teaching law students that the privileged class of lawyers possess the responsibility to facilitate a just society. ”

Bibliography o o o o David Barnhizer, “The University Ideal and Clinical Legal Education, ” 35 New York Law School Law Review 87 (1990). Frank Bloch, “Access to Justice and the Global Clinical Movement, ” 28 Washington University Journal of Law and Policy 111 (2008). Lawrence Donnelly, “Irish Clinical Legal Education Ab Initio: Challenges and Opportunities, ” (2008 -2009) 13 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 56. Lawrence Donnelly, “Clinical Legal Education in Ireland: Some Transatlantic Musings, ” 4 Phoenix Law Review 7 (2010). Lawrence Donnelly, “Developing Irish Clinical Legal Education, ” in (Thomas Mohr and Jennifer Schweppe eds. ) 30 Years of Legal Scholarship (Dublin, Round Hall, 2011) 359. William Pincus, “Remarks at the CLEPR 40 th Anniversary Celebration, ” 16 Clinical Law Review 23 (2009). Richard Wilson, “Western Europe: Last Holdout in the Worldwide Acceptance of Clinical Legal Education, ” (2009) 10 German Law Journal 823.