Moving Beyond the Traditional Big Case versus Small Case Debate: Embracing Opportunities to Engage Students in Transformational Advocacy

Go Back

Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Yosemite B

Floor: Ballroom Level

There is a longstanding debate within the clinical community about the relative merits of small, individual cases versus larger, impact advocacy matters in meeting the broad objectives of clinical education. This debate often assumes that small cases and big cases are proxies for pedagogical impact versus social impact, respectively. We don’t agree with this dichotomization and the assumptions underlying it. Both smaller, individual cases and larger impact advocacy matters have the potential to present significant pedagogical value, as well as generate and support significant social change. What this debate often misses is a focus on how clinical education can adapt to better prepare law students for the contemporary challenges of social justice lawyering and respond to the multifaceted and urgent needs of marginalized communities. How can clinicians evolve conventional pedagogical methodologies to better prepare law students to tackle chronic issues of injustice and engage in social justice advocacy for systemic reform? And how can clinical education evolve to meet both the educational needs of our students and the representational needs of communities, particularly when the communities’ interests, advocacy strategies, and the meaning of justice are increasingly complex? How do we depart from the traditional small versus large matter axis, as we challenge ourselves to make social justice contributions in a fraught political and economic context? Clinicians who employ a broad array of lawyering and advocacy strategies in their clinics will explore different models and methods to expand student understanding of what lawyering tools can be employed in service to individuals and communities, and to further justice. They will discuss the opportunities and challenges in working towards transformational advocacy.