Abstract
This article explores unbundling, also known as discrete task assistance and limited legal assistance, and the role it might play in a law school clinical program. After defining unbundled legal services, examples of which include pro se clinics, hotlines, and community education programs, the article outlines the advantages and disadvantages of such services offered on behalf of low- and moderate- income clients. The article then outlines the pedagogical disadvantages of providing unbundled legal services in law school clinics, which include limited skill development and the risk that law students will accept dual standards of representation for rich and poor clients. The article also outlines the pedagogical advantages of unbundled clinics, which include addressing the profession's resource allocation problem, experiencing ethical challenges, evaluating client results, exposure to alternative lawyer-client relationships, and the development of some lawyering skills. The article then utilizes a clinical and law student narrative to evaluate the merits of such clinics and their appropriateness for three hypothetical law students. Recognizing that some schools will incorporate unbundled clinics into their curriculum, the article concludes by describing a pedagogically sound unbundled clinic, with course components designed to overcome an unbundled clinic's limitations.
Publication Title
Clinical Law Review
Volume
7
Issue
2
First Page
341
Recommended Citation
Mary H. McNeal,
Unbundling and Law School Clinics: Where's the Pedagogy?,
7
Clinical L. Rev
341
(2001).
Available at:
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/clr/vol7/iss2/5