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The Impact of Clinical Legal Education Curriculumand Delivery on Students Performance: A Case Study of the Nigerian Law School
By
Odigie-Emmanuel Omoyemen Lucia
Nigerian Law School
Yenagoa Campus
Bayelsa State
Nigeria
Submitted to:
- International Journal for Clinical Legal Education Conference
University of Valencia
Spain
11th-15 July, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENT
Abstract
Background/ Introduction
Research Description
Study Design
Data Analysis
Interpretation of Data / Findings
Discussion
Limitation
Conclusion / Recommendation
References
Appendix
BACKGROUND/ INTRODUCTION
Clinical Legal Education as it is now gives us the ability to practice law immediately after call to bar, also makes one to fully understand court proceedings and majority of the terms used in court.
…A Bar II Final Student
Foundation
A Learning Pyramid created by the National Training Laboratories in Maine (USA) based on Edgar Dale's study and Cone of Learning illustrates the average retention rate for different teaching methods used by the instructor. According to the pyramid, the average retention rates are: Lectures-5%; Reading-10%; Audio-Visual-20% Demonstration-30%; Discussion Group; Practice by Doing-75%; and Immediate Use-90%. The least effective method of instruction given is shown to be "lectures" with a retention rate of 5%. This finding alone is alarming because traditionally, law students come in with the notion that the more time spent taking notes in lectures and reading the notes taken, the better the performance of a student.
The foundational question was: Whether a change in curriculum to adopt that which utilizes a combination of strategies emphasizing immediate use will reflect in the performance of students; how do we measure student’s performance? Should we measure performance as reflected in bar final examination result or do we also measure actual performance which takes into consideration the students development of practical lawyering skills and preparedness to immediately practice law. These thoughts and others thoughts flowing there from formed the foundation of this study.
This study investigated the Impact of Clinical Legal Education Curriculum on Students Performance and Delivery (Classroom Learning Environment). More specifically, it investigated the difference between the old traditional legal education curriculum and the new clinical legal education curriculum and their different impact on student’s learning and actual performance. The study analyzed the content of both curricula and how teachers use them, their impact in building specific lawyering skills and the progress and constrain experienced in the implementation of the new curriculum.
This study investigated the impact of both curricula using the parameters of an analysis of Bar Final Examination Results in selected years documenting the progression of students performance, an analysis of ASCLO Form 3 (Attachment of students to Chambers and Law Offices Principal’s Report) and an analysis of survey instrument administered to Law school lecturer’s, students, legal practitioners and judicial officers and information received from interviews conducted.
This study documented the trend of students performance in Nigerian Law School Bar Final Examination between 2006 and 2009, the acquisition of practical skills through the implementation of the new curriculum and the ability and readiness of students trained under the old and new curriculum to fit into their roles as lawyers.
This study examined the fidelity of implementation of the new curriculum using several lens including an observational framework that is built on the “ought” of standard based use of clinical legal education curriculum and the “is” as is currently implemented. This study also examined the constraint and challenges being faced in the implementation of the new curriculum and set out some useful recommendations for action.
A conviction is the first step to any meaningful change. Systems designed to transform or create change works when people believe in them. Any move towards change without a conviction soon reverses to the former state because of internal or external resistance. It is believed that this research will contribute to building meaningful data meant to justify or debunk the use of clinical legal education curriculum and give a clear indication of what clinical legal education can or cannot achieve.
The Nigerian Law School
The Nigerian Law School training is the vocational aspect of Formal legal training in Nigeria. The Nigerian Law School is a product of the recommendation of the Unsworth Committee[1]. The terms of reference of the Committee was, “ to consider and make recommendations for the future of the legal profession in Nigeria with particular regard to legal education and admission to practice, the right of audience before the court and making of reciprocal; arrangements in this connection with other countries”.
The Report of the Committee also known as the Unsworth Report published in October 1959 recommended that legal education should be provided locally and adapted to the needs of Nigerians and a law school established to provide practical training for lawyers in the works of a barrister and solicitor. Pursuant to that recommendation, the Nigerian Law School was established in 1962 by an Act[2] of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It began formal operation in 1963 at Lagos; it was later relocated to Abuja in 1997 and today has campuses at six different locations[3] in Nigeria. Five of these campuses are already in operation and the Yola to commence operation before the end of 2011. In sum, “the Nigerian Law School was established to provide vocational and practical trainings for law students in skills, procedures of court, and the ethics guiding the profession”[4].
The Old Curriculum
Legal training under the old curriculum was done mainly by delivering lectures to the students, tutorial and one Mock Trial per session. Lectures enable instructors to cover a great deal of information, but usually provide very little feed-back for participants. Six courses were taught to Bar Part 11 students, namely Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Legal Drafting and Conveyancing; Company Law and Commercial Practice, the law of Evidence and a general paper consisting of Law Office Management, Legal Practitioners Account, Professional Ethics and Legal skills. Special lectures were also given to the students by eminent personalities. In sum, it was a traditional information transmission exercise accompanied by condensed summary examinations.
An important aspect of law training under the old curriculum was the attachment of law students to courts for courts for six weeks and law offices for about five weeks to enable them observe trials, lawyer and court and chamber management. However unlike the new curriculum there were no placement workshops to prepare them and demand for keeping log books and no expectation of portfolio assessment to keep students on attachment focused.
The Law school training ended with the bar final Examination. The majority of students graduated from law school without having developed any lawyers practice skills they need in the workplace.
Clinical Legal Education
Clinical legal Education means different things to different people. Grimes[5] defines it as:
a learning environment where students identify, research and
apply knowledge in a setting which replicates, at least in part,
the world where it is practiced.... It almost inevitably means that
the student takes on some aspect of a case and conducts this
as it would ... be conducted in the real world .
Richard Lewis[6] while admitting that clinical legal education includes a wide range of activities such as simulations and placements defines it to mean student involvement with real clients in an environment supervised and controlled directly by the law school. Shuyun Sun[7] defines it as a new pattern of legal education that uses the form for reference that medical school uses clinics to cultivate interns to introduce the pattern of clinical education to legal education. In an actual or suppositional legal and under teacher’s guidance, through real cases and participation in law suits in person, students understand and study law; “diagnose” and “prescribe” the legal problems of client and provide solutions for their problems and legal service.
Clinical legal Education is defined as an educational program grounded in an interactive and reflective teaching methodology with the main aim of providing law students with practical knowledge, skills, and values … Clinical legal education is a dynamic style of learning also described as "experiential learning" or "learning by doing… If done within a law school, a clinical program may be based on real or hypothetical cases…There are also “simulation” clinics – focused on role-playing and simulating real life situations... [8].
Whether actual or suppositional, real, life or by simulations or/and by placement, the features of clinical legal education has been summarized by various researchers[9] to include; a transition from theoretical teaching to practice, students mode of thinking, interactive teaching method that allow students and teachers discuss freely, diversity of teaching places, unique evaluation method based on teaching objectives[10]; opportunity to apply knowledge, calls for reflection and self examination, embraces a skill based approach, allows more issues to be debated openly, promotes students motivation and experience; actual practice of lawyering skills as interviewing, negotiating, and analyzing cases, and confronts ethical issues that arise in real cases[11]; clinic will have a component of teaching skills and values about lawyering and social justice ; a component of applying those skills in a practical setting, and a part of reflecting and evaluating the practical experiences.[12]
To us at the Nigerian Law School, Clinical Legal Education means implementing the new curriculum based on a combination of all of the above perspective of what clinical legal education is. It means the introductive of a new interactive method of teaching which focuses on immediate use and develops lawyering skills through group discussions, brainstorming exercise, debates, case studies, role plays, mock trials, simulation, use of ICT and multimedia’s in training and considers ethical issues and also combines real life services at the Enugu campus.
The history of Clinical legal Education in Nigeria can be traced to February 2004 when Network of University Legal Aid Institute in partnership with Open Society Justice Initiative hosted the 1st Nigeria Clinical Legal Education Colloquium. At the end of the event, participants supported the introduction of Clinical Legal Education in Nigeria and resolved amongst others to facilitate the introduction and sustainability of CLE in Nigeria, the participants at the colloquium request NULAI and a follow-up committee to be constituted hereby, to initiate mechanism of consultations to secure the support of the Federal Ministry of Justice, National Universities commission, Council of Legal Education, the judiciary, deans of law faculties, Legal Aid Council, the Nigerian Association of law teachers, Nigerian Bar Legal Services NGOs, and representatives of law students societies in Nigerian Universities.
Clinical Legal Education at the Nigerian Law School: The New Curriculum
In 2006, the Council of Legal Education set up a Review Committee whose terms of reference include the following: to review the current courses offered at the Nigerian Law School and the curriculum of each course; to review the mode and period allotted to each course; to consider the manner and sufficiency of students attachment to courts and law firms and their participation in moot and mock trials; to consider whether and how to introduce clinical legal education; and to work out how best to integrate the participation of legal practitioners in the law school programmes.
The Committee’s Report recommended “the adoption of knowledge and skills based curricula and teaching process that enhanced the competence of lawyers in practice irrespective of area or place of practice…there were recommendations on the teaching methods advising the adoption of active, student centered techniques as against the traditional lecture type which is most inappropriate for a vocational school”[13].The Skills recommended as the focus of the new curriculum includes: Interviewing and Counseling Skills; Negotiation Skills; Drafting; Analytical Skills; Communication Skills; Time Management Skills; Research Skills; Problem solving; Interpersonal and organisational skills; Legal Writing Skills; Advocacy Skills; Case Management Skills; and File Management Skills
Re-designation of courses in line with desired scope of vocational training at the law school led to the cancellation of the law of evidence as a distinct theoretical course[14]. Five courses are offered to law school students: Criminal litigation; Civil Litigation; Property Law Practice; Corporate Law Practice and Law in Practice (a component of teaching skills and values about lawyering ) which is designed to nurture skills. The skills required to be acquired are cultivated by the introduction of interactive teaching techniques. A Lecturer gives a general overview in any course for the day for usually within an hour and thereafter acts as a Facilitator facilitating students immediate use of principles, skills and ethical issues considered through problem solving exercises, group discussions, role plays, brainstorming exercises, case studies, hypothetical problems, mock trials, value clarification exercises and students participation. Students are also required to reflect and identify ethical issues arising from each topic.
An important feature of the law school curriculum is the attachment of students to courts and law office after which their portfolio containing their log books (The students log book is divided into two columns, one for activities and reflections. Students reflect upon their experiences and document their written reflection), reports, essays and supporting documents are assessed by a panel of assessors composed of a lecturer and adjunct. The introduction of the after attachment portfolio assessment is a new innovation introduced by the new curriculum is. Even where students pass Bar Final Exams, they may not be called to bar if they do not score 70 percent in their assessment.
The new curriculum introduces and promotes the use of the internet and simple packages like Microsoft word and power point. Students are also trained starting from their first week of induction on how to use the internet for legal research.
After the assessment is a mock trial, the uniqueness of the mock trial lies in the fact that unlike the old curriculum where only those interested participate in mock trials, Mock trial has become a mandatory aspect of law school training. Unlike the old curriculum where only those interested participated in mock trials, under the new curriculum every student must belong to a mock group. From observation and facilitating practical sessions in mock groups, it is observed that all students have an opportunity to participate skills because they can participate in sub groups with their larger groups. These sub groups includes: research, advocacy and drafting sub-group.
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
It has been assumed that the more time spent reading notes dictated to students during lecturs, the greater their ability to retain what they have been taught and the better their performance in class. However, the results of research conducted by the National Training Laboratories in Maine (USA) based on Edgar Dale's research and Cone of Learning which illustrates the average retention rate for different teaching methods used by the instructor debunks this assumption. According to the pyramid, the average retention rates are: Lectures-5%; Reading-10%; Audio-Visual-20% Demonstration-30%; Discussion Group; Practice by Doing-75%; and Immediate Use-90%. The least effective method of instruction given is shown to be for "lectures" with a retention rate of 5%. The result of this research is alarming because traditional legal training at the Nigerian Law School has been based large on lectures and note taking.
However, with the revolutionary introduction of a new curriculum which departs from the traditional path and sets a standard on skills, ethics and not just on acquiring knowledge but actually emphasizes immediate use it becomes needful to monitor the impact of the new curriculum on students performance. Students performance focuses on two aspects, outcome in the bar final exams and readiness and ability to utilize skills acquired during the vocational training.
Therefore with the introduction and implementation of the a new law school curriculum it became needful to investigate the following research questions:
What is the impact of the new curriculum based on clinical legal education on student’s performance?
If the curriculum helps students to retain more, does it reflect in the result of their bar final exams?
How the emphasis on building Lawyering skills impact on the student’s readiness to commence his law career?
How can the current implementation of clinical legal education at the Nigerian Law School be improved?
This study is important for research, policy and practice because the findings will provide information essential for further development of vocational training at the law school, for policy makers and will be useful in guiding future programmes in the education sector.
STUDY DESIGN