Law School To Continue Clinical Ed

A Law School faculty committee yesterday realfirmed the School's commitment to clinical education, a topic which has divided the Law faculty for four years.

In a letter to the faculty, the Clinical Education Committee proposed that the faculty authorize Law School Dean James Vorenberg '49 "to continue support of the Legal Services Center through July 1, 1986"

The Committee's report, if passed by the Law faculty, would temporarily end speculation over the future of the Center, which gives law students hands-on experience in handling cases. But the report stipulates that support for the Center is "subject to [Vorenberg's] annual judgements about finances and about the Center's place in the School's teaching program."

The Center, located in Jamaica Plain, cost the Law School $200,000 this year and with the end of federal funding may cost "substantially more" in the future, the report says

But "if sufficient funds are available," the report adds, "we should seek to build on the educational asset that the Center represents"

The seven-man Committee, an offshoot of the celebrated Michelman Committee, which published a wide-ranging critique of the Law School last spring after three years of deliberation, was unanimous in its conclusions. Lance M Liebman, the chairman of the Committee, said yesterday.

But David L. Shapiro '54, a law professor on the Committee, added that "there is not complete agreement on the faculty on what the scope of clinical education should be."

"There was some fear that the Center might be drastically cut down." Lawrence S Lustberg '78, executive director of the Legal Aid Bureau, a student group which works with the Center said yesterday.

But while the Committee's memorandum allays those fears, it simply maintains the status quo, proposing no great expansion at the Jamaica Plain facility. Only five new courses will be added to the current 34.

"Further expansion depends on student demand," Liebman explained, adding that the Center currently has capacity for more students than apply each year.

Lustberg disagreed, saying that "if the program were expanded, people would fill those sports."

Other problems with expansion are the "availability of faculty members interested in teaching in these modes" and the Jamaica Plain site, as well as the cost, the report says.

The Committee's memorandum is the latest development in a debate over clinical education at the Law School dating back to 1979. Since the three faculty committees have researched the topic, most recently the Michelman Committee, which called on the Law School "to broaden its capacities for clinical instruction and research."

Despite its exhortation, current sentiment on the faculty is more cautious, members of the Clinical Committee said yesterday, and the Liebman proposals should pass without trouble at the faculty meeting next Wednesday.