Teaching Health Law

Sullivan W. M. Colby A. Welch Wegner J. Bond L. Shulman L. S. , Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law , 1st ed. (San Fracisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007).

Barry M. M. Dubin J. C. Joy P. A. , “Clinical Education for This Millennium: The Third Wave,” Clinical Law Review 7, no. 1 (2000): 18–30, at 12.

Morin L. Waysdorf S. , “The Service-Learning Model in the Law School Curriculum: Expanding Opportunities for the Ethical-Social Apprenticeship,” New York Law School Law Review 56, no. 171 (2011–2012): 561–616 (citing to the Third Wave, Id.).

Id., at 2.

Trigueros A. C. Curtis J. , “A Manual for Environmental Law Service Learning Pedagogy in Central American and the Dominican Republic,” University of Florida Levin College of Law, available at <http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/costarica/spotlight/2011/manual.shtml> (last visited June 5, 2012).

Smith L. , “Why Clinical Programs Should Embrace Civic Engagement, Service Learning, and Community Based Research,” Clinical Law Review 10 (2004): 723–754.

ABA Accreditation Standard 302(b)(2). In August 2007, the ABA clarified the rule regarding pro bono opportunities in interpretive guidance which stated: Each law school is encouraged to be creative in developing substantial opportunities for student participation in pro bono activities. Pro bono opportunities should at a minimum involve the rendering of meaningful law-related service to persons of limited means or to organizations that serve such persons; however, volunteer programs that involve meaningful services that are not law-related also may be included within the law school's overall program. Law-related pro bono opportunities need not be structured to accomplish any of the professional skills training required by Standard 302(a)(4). While most existing law school pro bono programs include only activities for which students do not receive academic credit, Standard 302(b)(2) does not preclude the inclusion of credit-granting activities within a law school's overall program of pro bono opportunities so long as law-related non-credit bearing initiatives are also part of that program. ABA Accreditation Standard Interpretation 302–10.

See Smith , supra note 6, at 32.

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Toncar M. F. Reid J. S. , “Uniform Assessment of the Benefits of Service Learning: The Development, Evaluation, and Implementation of the SELEB Scale,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 14, no. 3 (Summer 2006): 223–238.

See Morin Waysdorf , supra note 3. Some trace the history of service learning in the United States earlier to the mid-19th century with the passage of the Morrill Act that established Land Grant institutions throughout the United States and trace it through the Depression-era projects such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Work Projects Administration. See Toncar , supra note 10.

Bringle R. G. Phillips M. A. Hudson M. , The Measure of Service Learning: Research Scales to Assess Student Experiences (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2004).

Campus Connect, available at <www.compact.org/membership/> (last visited May 24, 2012).

See Toncar Reid , supra note 10.

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See Morin Waysdorf , supra note 3. The authors define the Millennial generation as “idealistic and committed to social justice” but having “their own ideas about what issues are more important and how to bring about social change.” Id.

Treuthart M. , “‘Service Learning’” Brings Real World into Class,” The Law Teacher 3, no. 2 (Spring 1996): 12, available at <http://lawteaching.org/lawteacher/1996spring/servicelearning.php> (last visited June 5, 2012).

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MLSC was – and still is – a wholly student run organization that organizes the student teams and conducts fund-raising to support the teams. MLSC's goal is to raise enough funds to pay for the students' airfare, car rental, accommodation, and a daily per diem for each student. To date, this lofty goal has not been reached, but the funds that are raised are used to offset the cost of the trip for each participant and therefore the cost of the trip has been relatively low. The students spend the last week of winter break – usually Saturday to Saturday – on site in the Gulf Coast. Students do not receive credit for participating.

Students on this trip, initiated in 2007, work with lawyers in the Biloxi office of the Mississippi Center for Justice on a variety of public interest issues.

Students on this trip, also initiated in 2007, work with Habitat for Humanity to build houses for individuals in need. This trip does not include a legal component.

In the course of the three trips, we have not made a formal decision as to whether students should be required to work on project matters before they leave. As I note above, I solicited volunteers the first year. In the second year, the team leaders were the only students to conduct research before the trip, and in the third year, the team leaders required all students to help with the project before the trip. I think any model is acceptable as long as the expectations are clear and conveyed in advance.