CLEA Newsletter: Spring 2026

Volume 35 · Issue 2 · Spring 2026

CLEA Newsletter

Updates from CLEA committees, articles on clinical education, upcoming events, and celebrations of our community.

From the Co-PresidentsCo-Presidents’ Message: Spring 2026Kathryn Banks and Neha Lall on a year of defending academic freedom, new committees, and what’s next.Awards2026 Awards: Celebrating Clinical ExcellenceJulie Dahlstrom, GW’s Health Justice Policy & Advocacy Clinic, and this year’s AALS section honorees.Committee ReportsCLEA Committee Reports: Spring 2026CLEA’s statement opposing repeal of ABA Standard 206, plus updates from Academic Freedom, Best Practices, and Externships.AnnouncementAn Important Message from CSALEWhy the triennial CSALE Survey of Instructors matters for every clinic and field placement teacher.Clinical Legal Education by the NumbersThe Effects of Political Interference on Law School Clinic FacultyRobert Kuehn on what surveys reveal about interference, self-censorship, and security of position.ArticleMeeting Students Where They Are: Designing Experiential Learning for Part-Time and Evening Law StudentsNakia C. Davis and Tameka E. Lester argue the barrier is structural, not individual — and show how to redesign.ScholarshipThe Latest from the Clinical Law ReviewAbstracts from the Spring 2026 issue: feedback, leadership, abolition democracy, and student voice.Good NewsMoves, Honors & PromotionsPromotions, appointments, and awards from across the clinical community.Good NewsWelcome, New CliniciansMeet the clinicians, fellows, and administrators who joined clinical programs this year.Good NewsBooks & PublicationsNew books, articles, reports, and op-eds from clinical faculty.Good NewsRetirementsCongratulations to Carl Warren and Diane Sumoski.

What is CLEA?

Advocating for clinical legal education as fundamental to a lawyer’s education. Real Cases, Real News.

More than 25 years ago, clinical legal educators perceived the need to establish an organization that was separate from the AALS Clinical Section. The Clinical Legal Education Association was incorporated in 1992, in part to enable clinicians to act swiftly and independently – something the Clinical Section cannot do because of its status within the AALS. Another goal in creating CLEA was to broaden our community by allowing membership for many individuals who do not meet the eligibility requirements of the Clinical Section. CLEA and the Clinical Section do not compete; rather, the two organizations collaborate and their interests often overlap. CLEA urges clinical teachers to belong to both entities. CLEA is currently engaged in activities such as:

• Advocating on behalf of its members with the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar to further excellence in legal education;
• Supporting individual schools, programs, and teachers who face political interference and other threats;
• Working with the Clinical Section and NYU Law School to publish the peer-reviewed Clinical Law Review;
• Presenting the biennial New Clinicians Conference and other programs specifically designed for new clinical teachers at regional and other conferences;
• Supporting amicus briefs on topics important to clinical legal education;
• Commissioning and publishing Best Practices for Legal Education: A Vision and a Roadmap (Stuckey, et al, 2007), and supporting the publication of Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World (Maranville, Bliss, Kaas, and Sedillo Lopez, et al, 2015).

CLEA Newsletter Committee

Jennifer Safstrom
(Vanderbilt)

Susan Donovan
(Alabama)

Allison Wang
(USF)
Editor

Ron Hochbaum
(Pacific McGeorge)