A Question of Mission: Catholic Law School's Domestic Violence Clinic
27 Pages Posted: 22 May 2015
Date Written: 1994
Abstract
This article argues that ad hoc litigation alone cannot achieve the teaching and service objectives of the law school clinic and outlines the Families and the Law Clinic's (FALC) attempt to adopt solutions that run as deep as the problems. Part I argues that the litigation provided by law school clinics does not sufficiently address the roots of the crisis in poor, black, urban communities. Part II discusses the failure of the traditional litigation technique to prepare students for the challenges they will face as poverty lawyers. Part III explains the historical roots of today's pedagogical problems, and describes progressive approaches to achieving the clinical mission. Finally, Part IV discusses FALC's efforts to implement new ideas and the attendant rewards, pitfalls, and uncertainties.
Keywords: legal clinical education, family law, domestic violence, indigent litigants, poverty lawyers
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