Partners in Crime: Collaborations and Partnerships by Criminal/Youth Justice Clinics

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Essex C

Floor: Fourth Floor

We recognize that the legal profession has an obligation to protect and guard democracy. We, as legal educators, have an obligation to train tomorrow’s lawyers to recognize that their success in maintaining our democratic system and structures will require them to reach across disciplinary aisles and work with other skilled professionals. Many areas in the practice of law have extensive histories of this type of cross-disciplinary collaboration, but criminal and youth defense practices, historically limited by budgetary constraints, are relatively new to this collaborative process. In this session, clinicians from four different academic institutions will discuss their own experiences initiating and developing collaborative practices consistent with the mission of the traditional criminal justice and direct representation clinic. The presenters will explore the process of collaboration, and demonstrate how these practices will illuminate the benefits of this development to the clinical students, to the communities served, and the overall function of the clinics themselves. The presenters will seek to demystify the process of building partnerships and collaborations in a criminal/juvenile justice context. The session will also highlight how even in the criminal/youth justice contexts, community driven and led initiatives can lead to more effective and client centered representation.