This op-ed originally appeared in the Feb. 14 edition of the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
Legal education has been a source of vigorous debate and criticism. Some is no doubt warranted. High tuition. A challenging job market for new grads. President Barack Obama opined that the third year of law school is unnecessary. These are all important and complex topics, and worthy of public discussion.
But another issue is of pressing importance, and law schools have an important story to tell. There is an access-to-justice crisis in this country. Three quarters of litigants in state courts are unrepresented. In California, there is one legal aid lawyer for every eligible 6,000 poor people. The most vulnerable members of our society, facing some of the most challenging struggles of their lives, are being forced into the legal system on their own, where they will unquestionably meet worse outcomes. This is undermining confidence in one of our most prized national assets — our commitment to the rule of law. The World Justice Project currently ranks the United States 94th out of 113 nations on the “Accessibility and Affordability of Civil Justice” 2016 Index.
This is a society-wide problem, and law schools have a crucial role to play. One of the primary ways we do this is through clinical legal education. Based on the medical residency model, clinical legal education gives law students an opportunity to represent actual clients under the supervision of clinical law professors. Most states, including California, have student practice rules that allow qualified law students to do this.
Our law school, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, has a longstanding commitment to clinical legal education. It is a key way we fulfill our social justice mission to train our students to be lawyers for others. Our Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic represents some of the most vulnerable members in our community. They recently held an event where they helped 100 Deferred Action for Child Arrivals recipients with their renewals.
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