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Abstract

There is widespread agreement that law schools cannot do everything necessary to prepare students for the competent practice of law. Perhaps law schools are best suited to concentrate on basic legal skills and knowledge building a foundation for the more advanced skills and knowledge that every lawyer must possess in order to represent clients effectively. Even in clinical programs, there are limits to what can be taught to novice practitioners. How to relate to clients, basic factual investigation, fundamental legal research, how to prepare a simple statement to the court, how to plan for a negotiation - let alone the practice necessary to hone those skills to an appropriate level of effectiveness - are all standard fare for the clinical teacher trying to introduce students to the various tasks lawyers perform in their work. In addition, the demands of clinic cases usually require exploration of more sophisticated lawyering skills, such as strategy formation and implementation, decision making under uncertainty and sensitivity to ethical dilemmas. This article discusses another topic for clinical teachers to consider adding to their teaching agendas. In this paper, I identify the "value imperative" implicit in the attorney-client relationship and suggest that a perception by the client of high value in the relationship is necessary for its success. Briefly, I describe value in legal services as the client's perception of the ratio of benefits received from legal representation to the sacrifices necessary to obtain those benefits. The more the ratio favors benefits over sacrifices, the greater the value perceived by the client. I present a model describing value in legal services and suggest how lawyers (and law students) might study what makes legal services valuable to their clients.

Publication Title

Clinical Law Review

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

117

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