Disruptive Pedagogy: Incorporating Critical Theory in Business Law Clinics

Abstract

The discourse of business law clinics, which extensively emphasizes their value in practical skills training, can obscure the intellectual contributions of business law clinicians within the legal academy. As the number of business law clinics across the country increases, clinical education literature must incorporate a deeper understanding of the distinct learning ecology business law clinics offer. This Article provides a conceptual framework of how business law clinics can counter the cultures of conformity and complacency within traditional legal education. The Article elevates this discourse by examining the disruptive pedagogy business law clinicians engage in when they integrate critical legal theory into their courses. Finally, the Article posits that by exposing future corporate lawyers to critical legal theory, through the vehicle of strategic client selection, business law clinics prepare students to be generative lawyers who are more creative in their lawyering and more apt to lead in the ever-changing landscape of corporate law.

Keywords: business law clinics, clinical education, critical legal theory, corporate law, client selection, generative lawyers