Down But Not Out! How Law School Clinics Can Help Bridge the Small Claims Court Access to Justice Gap

Abstract

The legal academy is at the intersection of competing demands: law firms demand practice ready new hires; law students demand more practical experience during their law school careers; courts shutter more services to the public as their budgets shrink, and the gap in access to justice for under-served populations continues to widen. All of these demands can be addressed through the use of law school clinical programs. One type of clinical program is particularly well-suited to the task: the small claims clinic.As court budgets have continued to erode in the past decade, funding for small claims courts has been hit particularly hard. In California, free assistance provided by the court has decreased from full time attorneys staffed in almost all courthouses, down to a simple hotline. During this same time period, students have demanded more skills and practice oriented courses in law schools and employers expect their new hires to have more practical legal skills. Addressing these demands can be accomplished by creating more small claims clinical programs in law schools. This article provides a model for doing so, including how the practice ready skills supported by the American Bar Association and MacCrate report are fulfilled through such a program, not to mention the synergies created with local courts, community members and law school mediation programs.