The Judicial Clinic: Theory'and Method in a Live Laboratory of Law

In a judicial clinic, students are placed with judges to work in a clerkship capacity and to observe the operation of the courts firsthand. Judicial clinics are an increasingly popular component of law school curricula. Yet no focused attention has been paid to the theory and method of judicial clinical programs. This Article seeks to remedy that situation by positing a comprehensive theory about the design, oversight, instructional methods, and educational goals of a judicial clinic.

To effectively design, oversee, and teach in a judicial clinic, one should begin by examining theories regarding the goals and methods of clinical legal education. Clinical programs have been characterized as having either micro- or macroeducational goals. The micro goal of learning practical skills (first urged by Jerome Frank in his plea for a clinical lawyer school) is widely accepted and has served to make clinical legal education an established part of legal education. Alternatively, the macro goals (learning professional responsibility and studying the operation of legal institutions) also have strong historical roots in clinical legal education.