Clinical Legal Education

Product Details:
Author(s):
M A du Plessis
Year Published:
2017
Edition
1st Edition
Type:
Print | Soft Cover
Language:
English
About this publication
Clinical legal education (CLE) is a springboard for entry into legal practice, preparing students for the professional challenges they will face after completing their studies and embarking on their legal careers.
In her eight years of conducting research on CLE in South African universities, the author has found that the most urgent needs are in the area of student assessment. Designing a curriculum with assessable content is therefore essential for clinicians who, in certifying students’ capabilities, are the gatekeepers to practice.
This book identifies curriculum requirements across a number of jurisdictions and proposes a menu of assessment methods which may enhance the choices of assessment methodologies available to South African university law clinics. It also covers the setting of parameters for assessment, grading, grade descriptors and moderation systems, and discusses different forms of tests, assignments, essay and oral examinations, as well as self- and peer-evaluation, peer editing, case portfolios, and trial advocacy skills. The book addresses challenges such as clinicians’ heavy workloads and differing levels of experience in supervision and assessment. It discusses challenges students face and presents solutions enabling clinicians to help them depending on their individual experience and needs.
Also discussed are the potential conflicts between the needs of students and those of the local community being served by the law clinic.
Although the aim of this book is to find appropriate assessment methods for CLE, the effectiveness of an assessment programme can only be determined when measured against a curriculum. The proposed curriculum is therefore measured against the identified assessment criteria.
CLE Lecturers can download assessment forms, checklists, and rubrics. Click here for details.
Content
Evaluation of the CLE course
Spot test assessment form
Case report
Rubrics for law case analysis
Instructive reflective journal
Instructive reflective journal for use in South African CLR courses
Self-assessment 
Peer evaluation
Client assessment: Questions 
Rubric: Client letter
Rubric: Civil complaints
Rubric: Client complaint
Rubric: Competencies – clinic 
Oral argument feedback: Trial advocacy
Assessment report: Trial advocacy
Assessment: Trial advocacy
Holistic rubric for assessing student essays
Holistic rubric for assessing online discussions
Descriptive/analytic rubric for a slide presentation on findings from research sources
Analytic rubric for peer assessment of team project members
Analytic rubric for an oral presentation
Rubric of evaluation of class participation
Rubric for assessing portfolios
‘Model’ assessment rubric recommended for South African university law clinics
Guidelines for internal and external moderation of the assessment process: Internal moderator’s report
Guidelines for internal and external moderation of the assessment process: external moderator’s report
Guidelines for clinicians’ self-evaluation of the assessment process
Collaboration: Group work survey
Collaborative project rubric 
Firm/team assessment rubric
Interview techniques: establishing rapport with client
Self-evaluation (general study habits; class/clinic/tutorial preparation and review; non-academic issues that affect law school/clinic performance)
Interest / Benefit to
Law clinicians
Lecturers