Community Legal Clinics and Clinical Legal Education in Singapore

Abstract

A common thread underlying many clinical legal education initiatives – to support access-to-justice imperatives – is interwoven with broader policy initiatives within a legal system to develop its pro bono legal service channels for the benefit of the wider community. The former can make meaningful contributions towards the pursuit of the latter, while the flourishing of the latter can create valuable opportunities for the growth of the former. One of the major reforms made to Singapore’s legal system in the last decade was the establishment of a nation-wide network of community-based legal clinics, connecting volunteer lawyers with laypersons seeking legal advice and assistance navigating the country’s legal system. The work of such legal clinics can potentially benefit tremendously from engaging the assistance of law students through structured clinical legal education programmes, thereby enabling these lawyers-in-training to develop their practical and professional skills by applying what they have learnt in the classroom to real-world “clients” under the supervision of qualified legal practitioners. This article explores the potential for a closer alignment between the pro bono activities of Community Legal Clinics and the development of clinical legal education initiatives within Singapore’s law schools, analyzing empirical data from the author’s experience volunteering at a legal clinic alongside undergraduate law students to formulate recommendations that may generate desired outcomes on both fronts.