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Abstract

The students sit in the clinic shaking their heads over their client's situation. The professor joins in the discussion and some other students gather around to hear the story, to add their comments and to assist in developing strategy. The next day, the professor listens while the students counsel the client who tells them some additional facts and looks worried. They step into the courtroom where the opposing counsel and judge waltz through the proceedings like old dance partners while the students make an excellent effort to keep up. On the way back to the law school, the professor and students discuss what happened. During the next clinic class, lessons from the experience are extrapolated, and at the end of the semester, the assessment of the students' semester is partially based on what happened. The case is resolved, the client's life continues, the students graduate, the opposing counsel and judge continue their routine and the clinic professor sits down to write a law review article about the client's and the students' experiences. It is quite probable that the teacher never consulted with the client or the students whether they would choose to be the subject of the research project. Moreover, most of us would not make the availability of legal services or a class contingent on someone's willingness to participate as a research subject. However, we need to consider whether we are exploiting our positions as we use our clients' and students' experiences as the basis for our scholarship.

Publication Title

Clinical Law Review

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

271

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