Legal Education En Español: A Pedagogical Model

Abstract

Law schools in the United States are pursuing various strategies to prepare their graduates to compete in a global marketplace for jobs. One such strategy is the development of courses and programs designed to equip law graduates with the knowledge and skills needed to serve as effective bilingual advocates. As part of this effort, in recent years, teachers and scholars have engaged in curricular experimentation and ongoing theorizing about the optimal methods and approaches for bilingual legal education. This essay builds upon existing theoretical work and outlines a unique, bilingual instructional model that involves adding an optional credit hour – taught in Spanish or another language – to existing doctrinal courses. Drawing from the literature on language pedagogy and classroom experiences over several years, the essay describes the basic architecture for these courses, specific instructional techniques, as well as some challenges and limitations of this model.

Keywords: legal education, legal pedagogy, language, pedagogy, bilingual, Spanish, immigration, lawyering

JEL Classification: K10, K37, K40