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Abstract

Small business and community economic development (CED) clinics represent an important and growing component to the future of clinical legal education. The national political trend is away from government entitlements and toward personal responsibility and economic self-sufficiency. This shift has encouraged the growth of more small business and CED clinics at law schools. This article analyzes the benefits to clinical legal education of these transactional clinics' in contrast to more traditional clinics by exploring these clinics contribution to the development of the skills and values sought to be taught through clinical legal education. Part I explains the importance of microbusinesses to community economic development. It also describes the evolution of the inclusion of small business and CED clinics in clinical legal education. Part II uses the George Washington University Small Business Clinic to analyze the unique benefits of transactional clinics in contrast to more traditional clinics- typically involved in criminal, family and entitlement work- to explore the impact of small business clinics in developing skills such as interviewing and counseling. It will also analyze small business clinics' impact in teaching students values related to lawyers' professional roles in particular the uniquely clinical concern regarding lawyering for social change. Part III concludes that small business and CED clinics provide much needed legal representation to low-income and underrepresented communities and valuable experiential learning opportunities and practical doctrinal knowledge to law students.

Publication Title

Clinical Law Review

Volume

4

Issue

1

First Page

195

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