Specialist Clinical Legal Education: An Australian Model

Susan Campbell,Alan Ray

doi:10.19164/ijcle.v3i0.119

Abstract

Clinical legal education in Australia traditionally has been based in generalist clinics, where the client and caseload intake is limited primarily by the financial means of clients rather than by the legal subject matter of their problems. The breadth and variety of legal problems which confront clinic students provide insight into and understanding of the operation of the legal system at the grass roots and the legal issues raised rarely seem to reflect directly the law the students have learnt in the classroom.In recent years, for both educational and political reasons, Australian Universities have begun to develop specialised clinics, serving clients with problems in a particular area of law.This article describes the operation of Monash’s specialised Family Law clinic and considers the factors which, in the Monash experience, have combined to ensure its stability and recognition, within the University and in the broader political context.

Highlights

In 1996 the newly elected conservative Federal government announced a program of reduction in legal aid funding
The government, which has constitutional responsibility for family law, resisted growing calls for the restoration of legal aid funding but sought to institute a range of alternative measures which might be seen to solve the problem. One such measure was the discovery by the government of clinical legal education, with its use of students as “free labour” and its connection with Universities, which might be expected to contribute to the costs of programs
Monash applied under the new program to establish a clinic conducting self-help workshops to assist family law clients without representation either by a private practitioner or through legal aid[5]

Summary

Introduction

In 1996 the newly elected conservative Federal government announced a program of reduction in legal aid funding. The government, which has constitutional responsibility for family law, resisted growing calls for the restoration of legal aid funding but sought to institute a range of alternative measures which might be seen to solve the problem. One such measure was the discovery by the government of clinical legal education, with its use of students as “free labour” and its connection with Universities, which might be expected to contribute to the costs of programs. Monash applied under the new program to establish a clinic conducting self-help workshops to assist family law clients without representation either by a private practitioner or through legal aid[5]. The application focussed on the conduct of workshops to encourage in clients a philosophy of self-help and mutual support[6]

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Conclusion