Public Legal Education

The Role of Law Schools in Building a More Legally Literate Society

Richard Grimes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000387117
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

This book makes the case for a more legally literate society and then addresses why and how a law school might contribute to achieving that. Moreover examining what public legal education (PLE) is and the forms it can take, the book looks specifically at the ways in which a law school can get involved, including whether that is as part of an academic, credit-bearing, course or as extra-curricular activity.

Divided into five main chapters, the book first examines the nature of PLE and why its provision is so central to the functioning of modern society. Models of PLE are then set out ranging from face-to-face tuition to the use of hard-copy material, including the growing importance of e-based technology. One model of PLE that has proven to be very attractive to law schools – Street Law – is described and analysed in detail. The book then turns to look at the considerations for a law school wishing to incorporate PLE into its offerings be that as part of the formal curriculum or not. The subject of evaluation is then raised – how might we find out if what we do by way of PLE is effective and how it might be improved upon? The final chapter reaches conclusions, some penned by the book's author and others drawn from key figures in the PLE movement. This book provides a thorough examination of PLE in a law school context and contains a set of templates that can be implemented and/or adapted for use as the situation and jurisdiction dictate.

An accessible and compelling read, this book will be of interest to law students, legal academics, practising lawyers, community activists and all those interested in PLE.

Chapter 1

Background and context

Introduction

The case for a society that is literate and numerate is presumably uncontroversial unless one subscribes to a dictatorial version where knowledge is deemed as power and a view that such power should not be shared. Whilst we may think of literacy in the strict sense of words and the ability to read, write and comprehend them, I suggest that a fully functioning world needs its members to be able to make sense of a wide range of issues beyond written or spoken language. This includes our health and well-being and matters financial and legal, especially the policies, rules and procedures that affect many of us on a daily basis from leisure and commerce to working and family relations.

The arguments in favour of a more legally literate society have been made powerfully and many times and across jurisdictions.¹ Whilst it may be agreed that public legal education (PLE) is closely linked with access to justice and is seen generally as a ‘good thing’, the fact remains that there is much to be done to make the aspiration a reality, including the need for the intervention of representative bodies of the international community.² Living ever-more-complex lives in a rapidly changing world requires a basic understanding of both rights and responsibilities if citizens are to play their part and fulfil their potential, domestically and globally.

The question then arises whose responsibility is it to promote and support PLE, ensuring that the world becomes more legally aware? Going beyond these principles, who can and perhaps should design, deliver and evaluate PLE?

The legislature and state authorities might have the initial responsibility for doing so, at least at the stage of ensuring initial provision and resource, but there are institutions in the field that are currently well equipped to initiate and sustain further development. Amongst these bodies are law schools (as well as others, notably non-governmental organisations [NGOs]).

This book focuses on why and how a law school might be actively involved in PLE for the benefit of a range of stakeholders, including, of course, law students but particularly aiding members of wider society.

Whilst the intended beneficiaries of any approach to PLE are, by definition, the public, this book is not a treatise on or guide as to what should be included. It is not prescriptive in terms of form or content. Rather, the book proposes to fill a gap in provision and provide law schools and students with a clear pointer for taking PLE forward as part of either the credit-bearing curriculum or extra-curricular activity, for the benefit of all concerned.

At the last estimate, over 60% of law schools in the United Kingdom alone ran legal literacy classes for the public³. Judging by the extent of universities represented at recent conferences on the subject, this figure may now be considerably higher.⁴ Mainly using what is now commonly referred to as the Street Law ⁵ method (although there are many other forms of PLE as this book demonstrates), law students, under the supervision of suitably qualified academics and practising lawyers, go into various community settings by invitation and deliver interactive sessions on law and related issues affecting everyday life. The rationale behind such a development has been based on a ‘win/win’ concept – the public benefit from greater awareness of matters legal, the students can learn from having to research, prepare and deliver and the law school meets aspects of its social mission and serves its corporate responsibility agenda. For the legal profession, this provides a further opportunity for pro bono work. For law firms and employers more generally, they should inherit graduates and others who, as a result of their exposure to such hands-on opportunities to learn, may emerge from law schools with a broader and more effective skills set and a developing understanding of professional responsibility as well, of course, as the requisite knowledge base to aid employability, social utility and future careers.

This book sets the scene for law school involvement in PLE and provides a detailed account of both why the law school might be involved and how it can plan, deliver and assess PLE initiatives and, possibly, evaluate its impact. Specific examples are given throughout the book to support those wanting to develop or expand and appraise their PLE provision.

Let us first look at what we mean by PLE and then turn to who might take (and indeed in some places have already taken) up the challenge of producing a more legally literate society.

What is PLE?

There are no clear definitions for this term, although there may be a common understanding as to what it might mean and cover. In its groundbreaking report into PLE in 2007, the PLEAS Task Force, set up by the (then) Department for Constitutional Affairs (now Ministry of Justice) in the United Kingdom, developed the following as a working definition:

PLE provides people with awareness, knowledge and understanding of rights and legal issues, together with the confidence and skills they need to deal with disputes and gain access to justice ….(and) … recognise when they may need support … and how to go about getting it.⁶

From this helpful exposition, there appear to be three key components – an awareness of the law and the legal process, an ability to use that awareness in addressing problems or issues and to realise when help may be needed and where to go to for assistance.

As the Task Force report notes, research (albeit jurisdictionally [United Kingdom]-specific) has identified the likely extent of the ‘PLE problem’, including the numbers of people with unresolved legal difficulties and the cost to them and wider society of having such problems and concerns.⁷ Without being in any way complacent, one suspects that if this is the situation in a relatively wealthy country, with a long-established legal profession, a functioning administration of justice, state education provision covering citizenship and civics, widely available e-technology and many not-for-profit organisations offering help, then the situation is likely to be considerably worse in places not so well served.

The Task Force strongly recommended an independent agency to promote and support PLE in the United Kingdom and although this has not materialised in terms of a core-funded public body, this led, eventually, to the creation of an NGO known by the name plenet (the PLE network).

Having published several important guides and commentaries over the past 10 years or so, plenet (now known as lawforlife) highlights five key aims of PLE:

• raising awareness of rights and issues,
• identifying the legal dimensions in everyday situations,
• equipping people with skills and confidence in resolving and preventing problems,
• enabling people to recognise when they need help, and
• helping people to shape decisions and make necessary changes.⁸

Again the common themes here are awareness, an ability to use information and to know when and where to go to if further help is needed.

More recently, again in the United Kingdom, the Civil Justice Council, a body established by the judiciary to review its work in the wider context of the justice system, has reported on an increasingly common and troubling situation for all – the rise in the number of litigants who are unrepresented. One of the key recommendations here centres on the importance of a greater level of understanding of both rights and responsibilities under the law and the role of PLE in assisting with that aim.⁹

This emphasis on the need for PLE and the encompassing of awareness, capability and empowerment with related support systems has been recognised and promoted elsewhere in the world. In Canada, for example, there have been a number of initiatives and reviews under the banner of PLE or, as it is more often there termed ‘community legal education’.¹⁰ In Australia, in particular, the number of people appearing, without legal or other representation, before the courts and tribunals has prompted federal and state authorities to question issues around access to justice and the public's awareness more generally of matters legal.¹¹

The common denominator in all of this is the significance, from varying perspectives ranging from access to justice and human rights to a court system that works smoothly, of legal literacy. This book will examine later whether increased levels of legal awareness have identifiable impact and if so, to what extent and how that impact manifests itself. Evidenced by the literature and reviews referred to above, there would seem to be agreement at least that PLE is one of a number of important and essential tools in pursuing more meaningful access to justice and serving the aspiration for a more engaged and effectively democratic society.

Role of the state and others

So where does the burden lie in making legal literacy more of a reality?

It is suggested more than once in this book that the responsibility surely falls primarily on public authorities as they are well positioned to oversee and respond and are accountable for their acts and omissions in a way that the private sector may not be? The state, in its different guises, also has the power and legitimacy to react to perceived need and raise the finance so vital in addressing this.

In England and Wales,¹² there has long been a discussion on who is responsible for what in terms of PLE. Most recently, the Legal Services Act 2007, S.1 (1) (g) specifically provides that the Legal Services Board (LSB) has, as a regulatory objective, responsibility for ‘increasing public understanding of the citizen's legal rights and duties’, although as the LSB is focused on legal service provision, this obligation does not cover, nor is it fair to expect it to in this context, all aspects of PLE. That said, there is little evidence to suggest that the LSB has responded proactively in improving levels of legal literacy if the numbers of unresolved legal problems, the increase in litigants in person and the lack of funding provided for NGOs in the PLE field are anything to go by.

Interestingly, the then strategy director at the LSB, admittedly writing in his own capacity and not representing the Board, sees PLE as the poor relation of legal services, despite the LSB's statutory responsibility for this aspect of provision.¹³

In the United Kingdom and many other jurisdictions, whilst the state may take responsibility in principle for ensuring access to justice in general and legal literacy in particular, it is the non-statutory and often not-for-profit sectors which in reality bear much of the burden for what happens on the ground.

Relevance to law schools

As has been well documented elsewhere, there has long been a tension between the aims of a law school to provide a heavily doctrinal and/or humanities-focused programme of study and the requirements of the legal profession(s) and employers in other possible career destinations for students to be equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills for the world of work.¹⁴ Whilst the agenda of each interest group may differ, there has been a discernible shift in recent years, perhaps spearheaded by a number of influential reviews, to an acceptance that to be fit for purpose in the 21st century an academic qualification, particularly in a field of study that has such strong vocational links as law does, needs to encompass more than just technical knowledge.¹⁵ The relevance of a range of ‘soft’ and specifically legal skills (e.g. in teamwork, interpersonal communication, research, drafting, advocacy and conflict resolution/problem-solving), the need for the development of personal values and an understanding of professional responsibility can be seen through their inclusion now in many law school programmes.

The opportunities to identify and then apply principles across the knowledge, skills and values domains are presented in a number of situations, but perhaps none as clearly as engagement in activities where the student experiences and analyses law in practice – be that with real clients or through simulated exercises within the law school environment or on work-related placements.

It is often said that using experiential methods in law schools can be highly, if not unduly, resource-intensive and as true as this may be in some instances (particularly, where the law school runs a live-client clinic), taking on PLE in the community can be a very attractive option.¹⁶ Why is this?

Firstly, many possibilities abound. Street Law programmes, for example, often operate in schools alongside perhaps courses in civics and citizenship. Other settings, including prisons, religious venues and community centres, present a range...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• 1 Background and context
• 2 Delivering PLE: Part 1
• 3 Delivering PLE: Part 2
• 4 Incorporating PLE into the law school
• 5 Evaluating PLE
• 6 Conclusions: Don’t just take my word for it!
• Appendix: PLE case study
• Index