To aid registered participants prepare for the Summit, the Secretariat will send SUMMIT ADVISORIES to their email starting November 14, 2022 (Monday)

CLEP at the Frontline:

Paving the Way Forward for Greater Access to Justice through Clinical Legal Education

December 1-3, 2022 | Grand Hyatt Hotel, Taguig City, Metro Manila | Online via Airmeet

The Legal Education Board, in partnership with the Supreme Court Oversight Committee for the Implementation of the Revised Law Student Practice Rule, the Philippine Association of Law Schools, and the Association of Law Students of the Philippines, and with the support of The Asia Foundation and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, is organizing the First Philippine Clinical Legal Education Summit on December 1 to 3, 2022. The theme for the Summit is CLEP at the Frontline: Paving the way forward for greater access to justice through clinical legal education. This builds on the experiences, gains, and challenges of key stakeholders of the Rule to optimize the potentials of clinical legal education to address gaps in access to justice.

The Summit is a culmination of the 5-year Legal Aid Project (Strengthening Rule of Law through Legal Aid Clinics in the Philippines) that supported key stakeholders in the development and implementation of the Revised Law Student Practice Rule and the establishment of law clinics in law schools nationwide, all geared towards strengthening Rule of Law in the Philippines. The project is implemented by The Asia Foundation, with support from the US Department of State – Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Law student practitioners from Mindanao State University Sarimanok Virtual Law Clinic conduct legal aid in a mall to serve more members of the community.

It has been three years since the Revised Rule 138-A (Revised Law Student Practice Rule) was adopted by the Supreme Court. Premised on the need to ensure access to justice of the marginalized sector and the need to instill professional social responsibility for practice-ready lawyers, the Revised Rule institutionalized Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) in law schools nationwide. Since its promulgation, key stakeholders of the Revised Rule have relentlessly designed, developed, and implemented their CLEP and established their law clinics to transform legal education as a potent force to address the legal aid needs of the communities.

The First Philippine Clinical Legal Education Summit provides a platform for law schools, legal aid organizations and service providers, and relevant institutions to discuss important theories and principles in clinical legal education, share experiences in designing, developing, and implementing their CLEP in accordance with the requirements of the Revised Law Student Practice Rule, and identify challenges encountered as well as best practices, and lessons learned in their journey. It is also envisioned to facilitate a forum in establishing scholarship on clinical legal education and reinforcing connections within the community of legal and justice educators, clinicians, and legal aid practitioners in the Philippines and in the region.

Summit Objectives

1. Map out the legal aid needs and services rendered by Law School Clinics in the country and the potential impact of the Revised Law Student Practice Rule in addressing access to justice issues

4. Thresh out challenges encountered, best practices, and lessons learned in the design, development, and implementation of the law schools’ CLEP

2. Build scholarship on important theories, principles, and best practices in clinical legal education such as experiential learning, clinical pedagogy, professional ethics, and skills- building for law student practitioners

5. Explore mechanisms to address challenges and expand the programs of law clinics in the Philippines

3. Document and share experiences of law schools in designing, developing, and implementing their clinical legal education programs (CLEP) in accordance with the requirements of the Revised Law Student Practice Rule

6. Inform the public about developments in the implementation of the Revised law Student Practice Rule and the existence of law clinics able to provide free legal services

Summit Indicative Program (as of November 4, 2022)

The three-day Summit will feature of plenary sessions, panel discussions, and parallel paper presentations and interactive workshops from selected submissions from the Call for Papers and Interactive Workshops.

The first and third day will have on-site (face-to-face) activities that will also be accessible online through Airmeet, a virtual conferencing app. The second day will be conducted online.

DAY 1 (December 1, 2022; Thursday)

8:30 AM  –  Opening of Registration

9:00 AM  –  Entrance of Colors, Philippine National Anthem, Interfaith Invocation, Video Presentations

9:20 AM  –  Welcome Remarks from the Legal Education Board

9:30 AM  –  Message from the Supreme Court Oversight Committee for the Implementation of the Revised Rule 138-A

9:40 AM  –  Keynote Address by the Chief Justice

9:55 AM  –  Message from The Asia Foundation

10:00 AM  –  Message from the US Embassy in Manila

10:10 AM  –  Photo Session, Intermission Number, Health Break

10:15 AM  –  Video Presentation

10:35 AM  –  PANEL DISCUSSION 1: Clinical Legal Education Program in Law Schools

11:35 AM  –  Lunch

2:00 PM –  PANEL DISCUSSION 2: Legal Aid and Clinical Legal Education in Asia

3:00 PM  –  Coffee Break / Virtual Coffee Break

3:30 PM  –  Synthesis of Day 1

 

DAY 2 (December 2, 2022; Friday)

8:30 AM  –  PLENARY SESSION 1: The Clinical Legal Education Program and Preparing the Ethical Lawyer

9:30 AM  –  Virtual Coffee Break

9:45 AM –  Session Set 1:  Social Impact of CLEP and Access to Justice

10:45 AM –  Virtual Coffee Break

11:00 AM  –  Session Set 2: Clinical Pedagogy and Legal Ethics

12:00 NN  –  Lunch

2:00 PM  –  Session Set 3: Externships and the CLEP Network

3:00 PM  –  Virtual Coffee Break

3:15 PM  –  PLENARY SESSION 2: Lay of the Land – Challenges and Best Practices

4:15 PM  –  Virtual Coffee Break

4:30 PM  –  Session Set 4: Challenges and Way Forward

 

6:30 PM  –  Dinner and Fellowship Awards Night

DAY 3 (December 3, 2022; Saturday)

8:00 AM  –  Opening of Registration for Onsite Participants

8:30 AM  –  Synthesis of Day 2

8:45 AM  –  PANEL DISCUSSION 3: Building the CLEP Network

10:30 AM  –  Internmission Number, Video Presentations

11:00 AM  –  Message from the Philppine Association of Law Schools

11:10 AM  –  Launch and Presentation of the CLEP Publications and Knowledge Products

11:35 AM  –  Closing Remarks

11:50 AM  –  Photo Session, Lunch

PANEL DISCUSSION 1 - Clinical Legal Education Program in Law Schools

This panel will feature some of the pilot law schools of the Legal Aid Project that have set up their clinical program before the promulgation of the Revised Rule 138-A, and sustained and further developed its CLEP by virtue of the Rule. The discussion will cover the context that their law clinics rest on (legal issues in their community), their vision for access to justice in their communities and the design of their program, clinical pedagogy, ethics and social responsibility, challenges and how they responded to these, and prospects for their respective CLEP and CLEP in the Philippines, in general.

PANEL DISCUSSION 2 - Legal Aid and Clinical Legal Education in Asia

This panel will showcase clinical legal education and how these contribute to the enhancement of access to justice and rule of law in some jurisdictions in Southeast Asia. Discussions will cover clinical legal education and legal aid programs in Laos, Singapore (TBC), and Indonesia (TBC), program considerations, best practices, challenges encountered, strategies in addressing the challenges, and the future for clinical legal education in the region.

PANEL DISCUSSION 3 - Building the CLEP Network

This panel benefits from partnerships forged by law clinics with various legal aid service providers and organizations, engagement of Philippine law schools with international institutions, and insights gained during the Externships 11 conference held in October 2022. The discussion will cover the definition and conceptualization of the “CLEP Network”, benefits of and considerations in building the CLEP network (ex. Clinicians, externship placement, etc.), anticipated challenges in the process of building the network, and best practices and strategies in addressing these, and the possibility of building and strengthening the CLEP network in the Philippines.

Paper Presentations and Interactive Workshops

Fourteen (14) papers and five (5) interactive workshops have been selected from the submissions in the Call for Paper Presentations and Interactive Workshop Proposals will be featured in the Summit. Paper presentations are being screened for further development for publication in the CLEP Journal.

You may read selected paper abstracts and summaries of interactive workshops by clicking the button to the right.

COUNTDOWN TO THE SUMMIT

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For inquiries about the Summit, please contact the Summit Secretariat at PCLESummit@leb.gov.ph.