Clinical Legal Education: A (Brief) Comparison of the Evolving Structures and Pedagogy in Mexico, Canada and the United States

24 Pages Posted: 21 Nov 2015

See all articles by Elizabeth Keyes

Elizabeth Keyes

University of Baltimore - School of Law

David C. Koelsch

Independent

Alejandro Posadas

Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey - Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública; Facultad de Derecho y Criminologia

Date Written: December 1, 2015

Abstract

This Article highlights the development and current state of clinical legal education in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and examines recent trends in clinical legal education in each country. This is a timely topic. Canadian clinics and, in particular, Ontario-based law school affiliated clinics are grappling with recently-imposed post-graduation alternatives to traditional articling practices, while Canadian law schools are examining whether additional experiential courses should be offered to law students. U.S. law schools face difficult choices with respect to clinical education in light of sustained lower enrollments and resulting adjusted budget realities, as well as the pressures of meeting the needs of a radically restructured legal marketplace. Mexican legal clinics have a proud and storied history of providing free legal services to local communities and are rapidly evolving into more formal structures, even as the market for a legal education in Mexico is undergoing a transformative change.

Keywords: clinical legal education, justice education, legal pedagogy

JEL Classification: K19, K49

Suggested Citation

Keyes, Elizabeth and Koelsch, David C. and Posadas, Alejandro, Clinical Legal Education: A (Brief) Comparison of the Evolving Structures and Pedagogy in Mexico, Canada and the United States (December 1, 2015). University of Detroit Mercy Law Review Online, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2693363

Elizabeth Keyes

University of Baltimore - School of Law ( email )

1420 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
United States

David C. Koelsch

Independent

Alejandro Posadas (Contact Author)

Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey - Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública ( email )

Santa Fe
Mexico

HOME PAGE: http://escueladegobierno.itesm.mx/profesores/es/alejandro-posadas.html

Facultad de Derecho y Criminologia ( email )

Av Lazaro Cardenas 4600 Ote
Fracc Residencial Las Torres
Monterrey, 64930
Mexico

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