Day 74: Advice for a New Clinical Law Teacher
I had a conversation today with a former student who is now applying for a clinical law teaching position. I mentioned several things that I’ve learned (the hard way) over the past six years. They include carefully assessing the amount of work for each student can undertake, choosing clinic matters to fit within those parameters, and using this great book, Lawyers, Clients, and Narrative, to shape your classroom discussions of lawyering skills.
But the main takeaway I mentioned to this colleague is that, having done pure doctrinal teaching and, now, a mix of both doctrinal and clinical, I wouldn’t go back. While clinical teaching is a lot more work, I have found it deeply rewarding and meaningful in a way that even the most stimulating doctrinal class just can’t be.
It does take more time. If you want to be a scholar too, you have to get up early and work late.
But to see students develop agency is like watching new life begin. To feel the joy as we help a client emerge from our thorny immigration maze is like walking a fellow human being through the valley of shadows and into the light.
Once you see the life and the light, it’s all worth it.