CLEA NewsLetter for winter 2025-2028
Read the CLEA Newsletter for Winter 2025-2026.
The newsletter includes items on honors, awards, publications, clinical law professors around the country, and it includes committee reports and the recurring column on clinical legal education from Bob Kuehn.
The CLEA Co-Presidents, Kathryn Banks and Neha Lall, open the newsletter with their message:
As we write, we find ourselves at the end of the longest federal government shutdown in history and in the midst of a federal crackdown on immigrant communities and civil liberties. These events underscore how federal dysfunction and abuse of power reinforce unjust systems and inflict human suffering at the expense of the most vulnerable members of our communities.
For many clinicians and students, the impact of the current crisis has been immediate. Students in federal externship placements have experienced disruptions to their learning in agencies that have lost principled leadership, perhaps forever souring their perspectives on federal service. Clinical teachers are working with students to support clients facing increased barriers to accessing basic needs such as food, housing, and health care, highlighting the challenges of providing legal representation while clients are struggling to survive.
At this moment, the work of clinical legal educators has never been more vital. As constitutional and doctrinal frameworks continue to unravel, clinics and externships teach students why the law still matters. Even in the worst of circumstances, clinical teachers guide students on how ethical, client-centered, and trauma-informed advocates work towards more just outcomes every day.
This real life experience grounds students’ legal education, helping them to internalize how the law impacts ordinary citizens, and why they must hold themselves to the highest standards. CLEA will continue to advocate for the academic freedom rights of clinicians to select their cases and field placements, and to ensure security of position for clinic and field placement teachers.
Recently, CLEA’s Joint Task Force on Academic Freedom, together with the AALS Clinical Committee, issued statements of support for Professors Sheila Bedi (Northwestern) and Ramzi Kassem (CUNY), both of whom have faced attacks from Congressional committees for the clients they represent. In this newsletter, we are pleased to share a new piece by the chair of the Joint Task Force, Gautam Hans, providing an overview of the most recent attacks on clinical teachers and the legal landscape surrounding such actions.
With over 1,900 members, CLEA’s strength lies in our members, who continue to use their creativity, courage, and compassion to innovate. At a time where it can feel as if we are going at it alone, we encourage you to engage with CLEA and share your work.
CLEA would like to expand our impact and highlight the amazing work of our members and their students. To make this effort successful, we need members to take a few steps:
Social Media: Follow CLEA on LinkedIn and Facebook, and like and repost CLEA posts. If you have not already, please check out our newly revamped website here: https://www.cleaweb.org/
Volunteer: If you have never worked on a CLEA Committee, please get involved! We are looking for communications-savvy members to help lead our social media usage and expand our outreach efforts. Our Best Practices in Pedagogy Committee is developing a resource bank for clinicians, including new materials on AI and clinical teaching, and is looking for more help in the effort.
Write: Consider submitting a short-form article (from 300 to 1500 words) for our newsletter, blog, website, or social media here. We especially encourage new clinicians and our externship colleagues to contribute pieces. This is an excellent opportunity to publish in an impactful way! If you need some ideas to spark your interest, here are some topics that we would love to publish short-form pieces on:
Clinics and externships using AI to augment learning;
Academic freedom in clinics and externships;
Protecting student learning in federal government in the current upheaval;
Tips for self-care and wellness in these difficult times;
Good news and victories to lift our spirits;
Advice for new clinicians on the teaching market; and
Encouragement for clinicians to write op-eds and scholarly articles.
Your expertise is the foundation of CLEA, so please help support our amazing clinical community! Email us at clea@cleaweb.org if you would like to join a committee or contribute in another way.
For those attending the AALS Conference in New Orleans, please grab a CLEA badge sticker, attend presentations by other clinicians, and look out for an update regarding a CLEA social event. We cannot wait to see you all in Portland for the 2026 Clinical Conference!
In Solidarity, Kathryn Banks & Neha Lall CLEA Co-Presidents