TY - JOUR
T1 - A comparative study into legal education and graduate employability skills in law students through pro bono law clinics
AU - Cantatore, Francina
AU - McQuoid-Mason, David
AU - Geldres, Valeska
AU - Guajardo-Puga, Juan Carlos
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Law students face challenges when entering the employment market irrespective of where they reside. Apart from increasing competition from their peers, there is often a disconnect between theory in law courses and the realities of legal practice. The significant leap from “student” to “early career lawyer” or “graduate lawyer” requires law schools to be more proactive in incorporating practice-based legal skills. Whether experience is gained through clinical education, external work experience or pro bono programmes, the effect of practical work experience is to increase self-confidence, practice knowledge and, consequently, employability in students. Extracurricular community engagement has been widely recognised as enhancing graduate employability by combining experiential learning, coursework and community service, with teaching clinics providing suitable learning opportunities for law students. This paper focuses on the perceived benefits of experiential learning in pro bono teaching clinics with reference to three case studies of successful law faculty teaching clinics in different jurisdictions: an established law clinic in Australia; an established law clinic in South Africa; and an emerging law clinic in Chile. The results of the study indicate that students in all three jurisdictions – Australia, Chile and South Africa – will reap advantageous benefits from their clinical experience when entering the workplace.
AB - Law students face challenges when entering the employment market irrespective of where they reside. Apart from increasing competition from their peers, there is often a disconnect between theory in law courses and the realities of legal practice. The significant leap from “student” to “early career lawyer” or “graduate lawyer” requires law schools to be more proactive in incorporating practice-based legal skills. Whether experience is gained through clinical education, external work experience or pro bono programmes, the effect of practical work experience is to increase self-confidence, practice knowledge and, consequently, employability in students. Extracurricular community engagement has been widely recognised as enhancing graduate employability by combining experiential learning, coursework and community service, with teaching clinics providing suitable learning opportunities for law students. This paper focuses on the perceived benefits of experiential learning in pro bono teaching clinics with reference to three case studies of successful law faculty teaching clinics in different jurisdictions: an established law clinic in Australia; an established law clinic in South Africa; and an emerging law clinic in Chile. The results of the study indicate that students in all three jurisdictions – Australia, Chile and South Africa – will reap advantageous benefits from their clinical experience when entering the workplace.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096140663&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03069400.2020.1818464
DO - 10.1080/03069400.2020.1818464
M3 - Article
SN - 0306-9400
VL - 55
SP - 314
EP - 336
JO - Law Teacher
JF - Law Teacher
IS - 3
ER -