The Relationship Between Social Justice and Clinical Legal Education: A Case Study of The Women’s Law Clinic, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

There is a vital connection between legal education, public interest and social justice because lawyers use their education for the benefit of the society. They render their services to those who are unable to afford legal services and in addition, challenge injustice under the justice system. Law students are trained by utilizing the techniques of clinical legal education and they are imbued with a social and professional responsibility to pursue social justice in society.

Much of the literature which propounds clinical methodologies in legal education implicitly understands that exposure to a social justice mission within a guided practice setting provides students not only with a key linkage between their legal education and their practice competence, but also with the intellectual foundation for a long-term engagement with the advancement of social justice.

The proponents of a social justice dimension and clinical legal education often refer to the “dual goals of hands-on-training in lawyering skills and provision of access to justice for traditionally unrepresented clients”.

This paper seeks to explore the relationship between clinical legal education and social justice using the Women’s Law Clinic in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria as an illustration.