SMU Law Review
Abstract
In October 2023, the Clinical Program at SMU Dedman School of Law celebrated its 75th anniversary. The occasion provided an opportunity to celebrate seventy-five years of free legal services to thousands of clients over the years: real people with real problems without the means to hire a lawyer. Among the legal services provided were ones that ensured families had safe and affordable places to live, protected the rights of those in the criminal justice system, safeguarded seniors’ financial stability, assisted taxpayers in navigating disputes with the IRS, and ensured that employees obtain the benefits to which they are entitled.
During that time, thousands of law students worked countless hours under the supervision of their faculty supervisors to assist their clients. Though Dedman Law’s clinical program has evolved over the last seventy-five years, its two-fold mission is unchanged. Part law office and part teaching laboratory, its mission is (1) to provide quality legal services to those in need, while (2) providing law students meaningful opportunities to develop important professional values and skills.
This essay will provide a glimpse of what the core mission looks like today as it considers some of the changes that have occurred over the last seventy-five years, and it will end with some thoughts as we look to the future.
Recommended Citation
Mary Spector,
75 Years of Clinical Legal Education: Celebrating the Past While Looking to the Future,
77
SMU L. Rev.
537
(2024)
