What is Clinical Legal Education?
• The word ‘clinic’ originates from a french
word ‘clinique’ literally meaning bed side.
• In medicine and Law, clinics referred to places
where poor people received medical and legal
services.
• Clinical Legal Education refers to any kind of
practical teaching with the use of participatory
approaches to teach practical skills to law
students.
THE ROLE OF CLE
• To teach practical skills and professional
responsibility to law students.
• To provide legal services to meet the needs of
the poor and under- represented.
• Provide opportunities for students to assume
the professional role of a practising attorney
• Enhance students’ professional skills through
participation in activities.
Cont’d
• Foster understanding of and commitment to
high standards of professional responsibility
to clients, the justice system and the
community through examination of ethical and
professional dilemmas that arise in daily law
practice.
• Give law students a deeper and more
meaningful understanding of the legal
profession and the lawyering process.
Why teach legal Ethics and
Professionalism?
• To create awareness of ethical issues and
capacity to navigate ethical and professional
challenges.
• To develop the character and integrity that will
drive the advocate to right decisions and
actions.
Cont’d
• Student enrolled in a legal ethics course
should engage with bigger questions such as
…“Who am I?” “What do I believe in?” “What
is important to me?” “What will I do to make
this world and my nation a better place?”
“How will I be remembered?”
The Ethical Challenges We Face
• The challenge of a culture of self- interest
and favouritism
• The challenge of trust-building
• The challenge of access.
The Challenge of a Culture of Self-Interest
and Favouritism
• We live in a culture where people choose self-
interest over ethical and legal obligations.
• Many Ugandans abuse systems and adopt
corrupt practices in order to get what they
can.
• The low salaries of public officials in
developing nations are often pointed to as a
cause of corruption.
Cont’d
• Nepotism and tribalism are widespread.
• The justice sector is particularly susceptible to
the dangers of self-interest and favouritism.
• This culture results in widely held perception
that who you know has more to do with the
result you will get in court than what is right
and just.
A Challenge of Trust-Building
• Lack of trust in the justice system because of
corruption and favoritism.
• Lack of trust as a result leads to under-
utilisation of the justice sector by the public
which puts the future livelihood of advocates
at stake.
• There are stereotypes like “lawyers are liars”
Cont’d
• Without the public’s trust the justice system
will not grow.
• People will choose to resolve issues outside of
the courts.
• Crowds will continue to practice “mob justice.
• Many advocates will continue to find legal
work hard to come by.
A Challenge of Access
• The vast majority of Ugandans cannot afford
to access the justice system.
• Though some efforts are being made to
address this challenge justice-based needs of
the poor remain overwhelming.
• An advocate has a duty to empower the poor
and to inform the uninformed.
ETHICS: THE HEART AND SOUL
OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
• What is Ethics?
• The word “Ethics” may not be defined with
any measure of exactitude
• The concept of Ethics is self-evident.
• The concept has many sign posts that are real.
Cont’d
• They include such signs as nobility,
accountability, honesty, honour, trust, truth,
openness, hard work, resilience, competence,
diligence, proficiency, perseverance, charity,
sacrifice, selflessness, self-denial and self-
esteem.
• For the Lawyer and the Legal Profession, a
fitting and succinct summary of all the above
concepts, would be the one word: “integrity”.
Sources of Ethics
Ethics is grounded in:
• Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Virtues and values
• Logic and reason
• Ancient traditions
• Religion
• Morality ─ among others.
Importance of Legal Ethics
• It preserves the integrity and the reputation of
a profession.
• The very efficacy and survival of every
profession and vocation depends on its
reputation in the eye of its own clientele, and
in the ear of the general public. Indeed the
best asset of any profession is its collective
reputation.
The Riot in Ephesus – Acts 19: 21 - 32
What were the silversmiths fighting for?
• Respect of profession.
• Reputation of profession.
• Public confidence and goodwill .
• Survival of the profession.
• Discipline among the members of the
professional fraternity.
• Wealth and Welfare of the members.
Cont’d
• The “enemy”, in the above Ephesus case, was
clearly from without (i.e. outside) the
Profession.
• The outsider is an easier adversary to target
and to tackle.
• More insidious and more difficult is the
enemy from within the Profession; namely,
the prodigal son or prodigal daughter from
inside the family.
Cont’d
• The insider enemy (unlike the outsider),
knows the innards of the Profession :
“This enemy knows its whole terrain, its
weak links, its fragile spots, its exploitable
loopholes, its places of refuge in the event of
trouble.”
Cont’d
• Such an enemy, will strike a mortal blow at
the very heart of the institution, and then
retreat with impunity to the secret sanctuary
on the outskirts of the same institution
Cont’d
• It is against such an enemy that the toughest
security barricades need to be erected.
• The barricades need to be tough, and efficient;
and to be effective and effectual.
• In terms of Ethical standards, the barricades
need to be real, transparent, known by all,
adhered to religiously by the whole membership
of the Profession, and enforced with a vigour and
a rigour supported by the entire membership.
Cont’d
• What is at issue here is the collective necessity
to uphold the Profession’s reputation. As was
in the Ephesus example above, reputation is
critical for a number of reasons, including :
• To cultivate and sustain the public’s
confidence in the integrity of your profession
• To inculcate and retain your Clients’ trust and
satisfaction
Cont’d
• To generate growth and expansion of your
business
• To garner good ratings from organizations and
institutions that routinely or occasionally
undertake professional assessments or
perception ratings of your standing
• To serve as an indicator of your own individual
and your firm’s discipline, efficiency,
competence, diligence, proficiency, etc.
Cont’d
• To act as a barometer of your being a law-
abiding firm: one that demonstrates due
obedience to the law of the land; and
• To enhance good, positive publicity for the
firm to potential clients and consumers.
Code of Professional Conduct
• It is a set of guidelines written specifically to
guide the members and the management of
the profession in their daily practice of the
profession.
• The rules regulate the training of newcomers
into the profession
• Set the acceptable qualifications for their
admission to the profession.
Cont’d
• Stipulate the standards and conduct required
of them to maintain and remain in good
standing as fit practitioners of that profession;
• Prescribe the enforcement of those standards
and conduct through a system of legal
sanctions and penalties for those who fall
short of the required standards and conduct.
