Large-Scale Litigation in Law School Clinics

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

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This session will explore questions and strategies that arise when clinics take on large-scale litigation, (e.g., class actions, large collective actions, structural litigation, and other complex suits). Large-scale litigation is an important and at times a critical mode of advocacy to protect and advance the rights of the communities that public interest lawyers serve, and many students will participate in complex litigation during their careers. For these reasons, the ability to effectively and thoughtfully engage in large-scale litigation is an important skill for young lawyers to develop, and, consequently, for clinicians to teach. However, the scale, pace, duration, and structure of these types of cases often differ in significant ways from the individual representation cases that typically fill clinical dockets, presenting pedagogical and logistical challenges for clinicians seeking to do this work. Additionally, as in many contemporary legal disputes, these cases are often done in coalitions that include multiple firms and multiple clients. They may be subject to sustained media attention, and they often interact with legislative and regulatory advocacy campaigns. This brings different resources and perspectives to the work, but also new challenges for a clinical supervisor committed to ensuring that clinic students are playing lead roles in the case work and development of strategy. In this session, we will identify and explore these challenges and share strategies for clinicians seeking to do this type of litigation through the traditional clinical model of practice: client-centered, student-driven work, with students in the lead in court, negotiations, counseling, discovery, communications, community organizing and collaboration, and all other decision-making. Ultimately, we hope that participants will gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what student-driven work may look like in this context and a menu of strategies for putting their goals in that respect into practice