New report on clinical legal education launched

Clinical Legal Education in Ireland: Progress and Potential, which analyses advancements in clinical legal education, was launched by retired High Court judge and former part-time lecturer Dr Bryan McMahon at an event earlier this week.

The report, written by Larry Donnelly, director of clinical legal education at the university, was commissioned by the Dublin-based Free Legal Advice Centres Ltd (FLAC) and Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA).

Speaking at the launch, Mr Donnelly said: “This report is the first attempt to critically analyse recent advances in clinical legal education in Ireland and I hope that it will spur a discussion about the future among all of the relevant stakeholders.

“Clinical legal education has the unique capacity to create disorienting moments for students – in which law students are forced to confront circumstances that are directly at odds with their life and educational experiences to date. The disorienting moment should be at the heart of legal education.”

Professor Donncha O’Connell, head of NUI Galway School of Law, congratulated Mr Donnelly on the publication of the report.

Mr O’Connell said: “The report cements our already strong reputation as a national leader in providing an optimal legal education combining both theory and practice. This is the best means of preparing graduates for working in a rapidly changing, increasingly globalised environment.”

The report can be accessed online on the university’s website.

A hard copy can be obtained by contacting Mr Donnelly at larry.donnelly@nuigalway.ie.