More than 100 clinicians representing 20-plus law schools and organizations across 11 states traveled to the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law for the second annual Mid-Atlantic Clinical Legal Education Conference on Feb. 24.
The goal of the conference was to spark reinvigoration in clinical legal education as programs at many American law schools reach milestone anniversaries. Maryland Carey Law’s Clinical Law Program celebrated its 50th in 2023.
“Given the rich history of clinics at Maryland Carey Law, it felt so fitting to be able to bring our community together to share ideas about how to avoid a mid-life crisis in clinical legal education,” said Professor Leigh Goodmark, director of the Clinical Law Program. “I came away from the conference with inspiration and ideas that are going to benefit our students and our community.”
The day featured three sessions with three or four concurrent workshops in each. Conversations centered around timely issues such as collaborations between law and social work programs, pathways to diversity in specialized practice, clinic work during emergencies and natural disasters, and managing compassion fatigue.
Special afternoon sessions focused on works-in-progress, incubators, and teaching spotlights.
In her welcoming remarks, Dean Renée McDonald Hutchins discussed the importance of Maryland Carey Law’s clinics, which, she said, are "the beating heart of our law school, reflecting our dedication to social justice, community engagement, and the integration of theory and practice into legal training.” “Clinics,” she added, “are woven into our curriculum, which helps define us as a law school.”
Each year, Maryland Carey Law’s Clinical Law Program provides around 75,000 hours of free legal services to the community, making it one of the region's largest public interest law firms. Full-time day students are required to complete a clinical experience to graduate. Practice areas include consumer protection, criminal defense, environmental law, eviction prevention, immigration, intellectual property, mediation, and public health, among others.
For over 50 years, Maryland Carey Law has been a lead innovator in clinical legal education and was the first law school program in the country to receive the John Minor Wisdom Award, the American Bar Association's leading public service honor.
This conference was made possible in part through the support of the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education. This conference was supported in part by CLEA, the Clinical Legal Education Association, cleaweb.org.