An Anthology of Interference in Law School Clinics
An Anthology of Interference in Law School Clinics by Peter A. Joy and Robert R. Kuehn
Published by WashU Libraries on Pressbooks
An Anthology of Interference in Law School Clinics explores interference in law school clinics in the United States, addressing its long history and the legal ethics, academic freedom, and First Amendment responses to that interference. Law clinics have faced interference in their representation of clients from elected officials, business groups, alumni, and, at times, even their own school administrators. This interference has targeted clinics for providing individuals and nongovernmental organizations with legal representation on important matters, including racial and gender discrimination, environmental issues, prisoner rights litigation, death penalty cases, and immigration and human rights matters. In each instance, the interference has sought to subvert the legal process by preventing clinics from representing their clients rather than addressing the legal merits of their clients’ claims. Interference with law clinic client representation also appears to be part of the broader attacks on public interest lawyers and other lawyers representing clients in disputes with governmental entities, business interests, or other more powerful adversaries. This book is designed to serve as a reference and resource to address future interference.
About the Authors
Peter A. Joy is the Henry Hitchcock Professor of Law and director of the Criminal Justice Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. As a member of the Political Interference Group of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), he co-authored briefs and organized petitions against efforts to restrict law clinic client representation starting in 1997. Since that time, he has written seven articles on interference in law school clinics. He is past chair of the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education, past president of the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA), past chair of the AALS Section on Professional Responsibility, and past member of the AALS Committee on Academic Freedom. He is a recipient of the AALS William Pincus Award for his outstanding contributions to clinical legal education.
Robert R. Kuehn is a professor of law and the former associate dean for clinical education at Washington University School of Law. For over thirty years, he has been involved in combating interference in law school clinics, either as the director of an environmental clinic under repeated attacks at Tulane or through aiding other clinics with advice and briefs. He has written five articles on interference in law school clinics and for many years served as co-chair of the Political Interference Group of the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Clinical Legal Education. He is the past president of the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA), the vice president of the Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education (CSALE), and a recipient of the AALS William Pincus Award for his outstanding contributions to clinical legal education.
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