Social Change without Silos: An Interprofessional Approach to Clinical Pedagogy and Preparing 21st Century Lawyers

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Session Type: AALS Programs

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: N/A

Room: Salon 2

Floor: Third Floor

In these extraordinary times, amidst increased threats to clients and the rule of law, lawyers need to step out of silos and collaborate across disciplines in order to affect change. Moreover, to gather momentum and “respond to the now,” law students must learn how to problem solve and mobilize in pursuit of individual and systemic justice together with professionals from other fields. Problems that appear to be legal may be best addressed through research and practices from other professions; problems that appear to be outside of the realm of law may actually have legal solutions; and sometimes, the best solutions may come from holistic problem-solving across disciplines. As clinical educators, we have the opportunity to teach and demonstrate interprofessional collaboration to law students through our pedagogical approaches. As lawyers in a university setting, we are particularly well situated to develop partnerships with other professions in our institutions from schools of business, medicine, public health, social work, or public policy.

This session will explore the value of engaging law students with professionals, as well as other students, from different disciplines. This strategy can have immediate impact in our casework, but also long-term, transformative impacts in training the next generation of leaders to be collaborative and silo-busting. The session will provide concrete, transferable teaching tools and strategies for integrating professionals and students from non-legal disciplines into the clinic classroom and fieldwork. It will help participants identify challenges to such integration and strategies for overcoming those challenges. It will also provide a forum for sharing experiences and identifying opportunities for interprofessional partnerships and curricula development, as well as to plan for long-term changes to our institutions that open the door to cross-sector work.