Associate Dean Susan L. Brooks and Professors Rachel Lopez, Karl Okamoto and Reena Parambath offered insights about hands-on legal education at the Association of American Law Schools’ 38th Annual Conference on Clinical Legal Education on May3-4.
Brooks, the associate dean of experiential learning and chair-elect of the AALS Section on Balance in Legal Education, offered a workshop on methods for teaching and evaluating reflection, a core component of clinical legal education that is seldom measured. Brooks presented at a plenary session on leadership in experiential education.
Lopez, director of the law school’s Community Lawyering Clinic, presented a workshop on Teaching Justice. Since its launch in 2014, the clinic has represented community residents in a variety of legal matters, provided referrals to other legal organizations, offered workshops on bankruptcy, tangled title and other matters and prepared students to advocate for policy reforms. Lopez also presented at a session on promoting accountability, democracy and transparency in community-clinic partnerships.
Parambath, director of the Co-op Program, presented on a panel focused on helping students gain the most from field placements in small law firms.
Okamoto, director of the Business and Entrepreneurial Law Program, presented on a panel focused on placements where students learn to represent enterprises.