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Full-Text Articles in Law
Mini-Law School: Civic Education Making A Difference In The Community, Pat Newcombe, Beth Cohen
Mini-Law School: Civic Education Making A Difference In The Community, Pat Newcombe, Beth Cohen
Faculty Scholarship
Western New England’s Mini-Law School Program increases civic engagement and awareness and provides opportunities for law schools and educators to help non-lawyers better understand the legal system. This article will discuss the Mini-Law School Program, a creative and extremely successful five-week community outreach program focused on demystifying the law. Our society is in dire need of greater civic education. Public policy surveys consistently reveal disturbing statistics about the public’s lack of civic awareness (e.g., 15 percent of the public knew that John Roberts is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but 66 percent could name an American Idol judge; 70 …
Teaching Bioethics: The Role Of Empathy & Humility In The Teaching And Practice Of Law, Barbara A. Noah
Teaching Bioethics: The Role Of Empathy & Humility In The Teaching And Practice Of Law, Barbara A. Noah
Faculty Scholarship
This essay considers the role of empathy and humility in the professional practices of physicians and lawyers and in those who prepare students for these professions. Beginning with an overview of the goals and methods of legal education, it compares similar goals in medical education and the value of practicing law (and medicine) with empathy and humility. The essay then describes exercises used in the law school classroom designed both to teach law students about end-of-life law and also to allow them to practice counseling clients. Through these exercises, law students can experience firsthand the challenges of advising a client …