Teaching Law Students to Practice Social Justice: An Interdisciplinary Search for Help through Social Work's Empowerment Approach

Abstract:     
In clinical classes, students should learn that working toward social justice in their practice is both good and possible. After looking at the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct's lack of a clear definition of social justice and the way that this can hamper teaching students about social justice, this paper looks at social justice definitions from other professions and how social work in particular has demanded that their definition of social justice be actualized in practice. Discussing social work's "empowerment approach," the paper describes the way it develops social work's definition of social justice and demands that social workers practice toward it. The paper suggests ways that we can adapt the empowerment approach to law practice so that our students will develop a strong sense of social justice toward which they can strive and by which they can evaluate their work.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 47

Keywords: clinic, social justice, empowerment, professional conduct, poverty

JEL Classification: I31, K40

Accepted Paper Series