Passion, Context, and Lawyering Skills: Choosing among Simulated and Real Clinical Experiences

Abstract

This article provides a framework for choosing among simulated and real clinical experiences by focusing on three primary achievements of "clinical methodologies": generating passion in our students, providing context for their learning, and teaching lawyering skills. On the basis of this framework, the article argues that 1) relying solely on simulation based experiences prior to the third year of law school neglects the "passion" dimension of legal education, 2) relatively unsupervised externships or paid work experiences can play a useful role in providing crucially important context for doctrinal learning, but they are not the most effective approach to teaching lawyering skills, and 3) clinical experiences should be integrated into the curriculum during the first and second years of law school.

Keywords: legal education, simulation, simulated, simulations, clinical, clinical, externships, teaching, methodology