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Supervision is an acknowledged hallmark of clinical legal education (Giddings, 2013; Evans et al., 2017). Law clinic supervisors are at the heart of delivering the full possibilities of the clinic environment. However, despite the recognised value of supervision within law clinics, research on the supervisory role is limited. Existing studies overwhelmingly provide detached advice designed to increase the effectiveness of supervisory practice for the benefit of clinic students. There is a paucity of detailed insider accounts examining the realities of being a supervisor. The literature is fragmented, out of date, and lacks deeply critical analysis of supervisors’ lived experiences.

A traditional legal education in England and Wales has seen the separation of theory and practice. Undergraduate law students did not study ethics nor did they consider the relationship between the law and wider society. However, recent years have seen the integration of practice within many undergraduate degree programmes, often through clinical legal education programmes. There has also been recognition that law graduates should understand their ethical obligations and the impact of law on society. Reforms to legal education, most notably the forthcoming implementation of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, mean that universities may take a more liberal approach to the curriculum and are encouraged to innovate in their teaching.\ud \ud The history of clinical legal education has shown two streams of intent; ‘social justice’ including the provision of legal services to the indigent and the inculcation of social justice values in law students and ‘education’ of knowledge and skills. This thesis commentary, together with the supporting publications, considers what is, or should be, the intent of clinical legal education. Further, this thesis commentary critically examines the evidence of the impact of clinical legal education upon law students. \ud \ud This thesis commentary will conclude by proposing a re-imagining of clinical legal education, namely an intent to educate students in not only substantive legal knowledge and skills but also to critically examine the law in society. Drawing upon educational theory, the thesis commentary will propose how clinical legal education programmes can be designed to enhance reflective practice and allow students critically evaluate their own intrinsic values and beliefs.

Background/purpose:\ud This thesis investigates the factors that have been influential in either promoting or impeding the establishment and sustainability of clinical legal education in Zimbabwe (Mkwebu, 2015; 2016). Previous work on clinical legal education in other jurisdictions suggest that clinical programmes within law schools can help law students gain practical lawyering skills essential for legal practice. Literature suggests that law clinics have the potential to provide a platform upon which indigent members of the community can access free legal advice. However, the cost of running clinical programmes has been found, amongst others, to be the most influential factor inhibiting the creation and expansion of clinical legal education. Prior to this doctoral study, there had never been any comprehensive study carried out to investigate clinical activity in Zimbabwe. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that, amongst other factors, the resource-intensive nature of clinical legal education is the highly influential factor in the establishment and sustainability of clinical programmes within law schools.\ud \ud Research methodology:\ud The researcher adopted a systematic search strategy through the review question: What factors have been influential in the establishment and sustainability of clinical legal education? The search strategy undertaken between January 2014 and April 2014 resulted in the selection of a batch of 91 journal articles. Articles were analysed using a grounded theory coding system that identified several factors as having been influential in the establishment and sustainability of clinical programmes in other jurisdictions. To gain theoretical sensitivity in the field, the various factors identified from literature generated questions for exploration during fieldwork. Fieldwork commenced in Zimbabwe in May 2015 and lasted for three weeks. The legal aid clinic at Case A has a complement of five members of staff and they all participated in an audio-taped interview process. Transcripts were analysed using grounded theory.\ud \ud Results and Discussion:\ud An analysis of the selected clinical scholarship identified 20 influential factors. Grounded in the data collected from Zimbabwe were 25 factors that have been influential in either promoting or inhibiting the expansion of clinical legal education at Case A. In general, the identified factors were broadly similar to the various factors identified from the systematic review undertaken before fieldwork commenced. However, the differential impact of factors in the Zimbabwean context was revealed, suggesting a more complex model.\ud \ud Conclusions:\ud Firstly, the research findings support the notion that a systematic review is a method with benefits and could be used effectively in the field. Secondly, establishment and sustainability factors have been identified from the systematic review and from the data collected in Zimbabwe. Thirdly, the importance of the local context in the operation of these factors has been verified. Fourthly, sustainability is fragile and the researcher offers a series of recommendations drawn from literature. Developing receptivity to ideas from other interested stakeholders may be helped by adopting a robust institution-stakeholder partnership that fosters collaboration of ideas for sustainability as a framework.

This thesis investigates the impact of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013 in England and Wales on the lived experiences of LGBTQ individuals. The Act, which legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales, is argued to contribute to a ‘sexual hierarchy’ in which certain forms of sexuality and sexual identity are ascribed value by law and society. This is significant in developing understanding of the law’s role in constructing and regulating sexual behaviour.\ud \ud The thesis contributes to studies in gender, sexuality, and the law, and in family law, in providing a seminal qualitative assessment of the 2013 Act using queer theory. In doing so, it constructs homonormativity and the homoradical as identities existing within the sexual hierarchy. Not only does this thesis investigate the impact of the Act, it also assesses the lived experiences of LGBTQ individuals in relation to the passing of the legislation – including their views on equality, normativity, and sexuality. As such, it significantly adds to existing LGBTQ narratives.\ud \ud Utilising semi-structured interviews with 29 self-identified LGBTQ individuals, the thesis is qualitative in nature. It uses mixed-method sampling to create rich interview data and unique visual data. Applying a queer theory analysis, the study has found that the 2013 Act reinforces the sexual hierarchy in the construction of the homonormative and the homoradical as concurrent LGBTQ identities.\ud \ud In constructing the sexual hierarchy, this study has made visible the ways in which same-sex marriage reinforces and upholds heteronormative institutions. It confirms marriage to be a social and legislative organiser that reaffirms the centrality of the legal regulation of sexuality and the construction of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sexuality. The thesis will argue that consummation requirements should be abandoned as a precursor to further reform to disestablish the sexual hierarchy, thereby advancing social acceptance of LGBTQ identity and non-normative sexuality.

This work, published over a four-year period, focusses on the accessibility of non-molestation and occupation orders under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) under Part Three of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The collection addresses three questions (i) To what extent are non-molestation orders and occupation orders accessible to victims of domestic abuse? (ii) How is the accessibility of these orders impacted by societal crises such as Covid-19 and what lessons can be learned for future crises? (iii) To what extent is the new DAPO likely to be a more accessible form of protection than non molestation and occupation orders? The work is both retrospective, analysing the impact of key reforms on accessibility (i.e., the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO)) and forward looking, exploring how the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 may facilitate access to remedies by reforming the law on special measures and introducing a new protective order. The work is also timely in charting a pathway for the future of the family court as decisions are being made about the extent to which the Remote Access Family Court (RAFC) will be retained, even after pandemic-related reasons for its use no longer apply. The work combines doctrinal and empirical research and draws on qualitative and quantitative data from four separate projects. A range of voices are represented in the data including legal practitioners, professionals supporting victims of domestic abuse and victims themselves.\ud \ud The central conclusion reached is that the accessibility of protective orders has been undermined by wider family justice reforms which have taken place over the last decade as part of austerity measures and which have reduced the accessibility of the family courts more generally. Whilst it was intended that legal aid should be preserved for victims of domestic abuse, the restrictive means test has resulted in large numbers of victims being ineligible for public funding. This has had the impact of both deterring some victims from pursuing protection and increasing the number of victims who appear as litigants in person. The work highlights that litigants in person can experience barriers at all stages of the court process and these barriers may reduce a victim’s prospects of securing protection. In relation to the rates at which orders are granted, the research shows that whilst non-molestation orders are granted generously, the odds are stacked against victims to secure occupation orders – a trend which has been exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although there was a sustained increase in applications for non-molestation orders and occupation orders in the first year of the pandemic, suggesting that the transition to the RAFC has not impeded victims’ access to protective orders, the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing barriers for litigants in person. Notwithstanding, the research also identifies benefits of the RAFC in safeguarding victims’ safety and wellbeing, indicating there is value in retaining remote hearings in some circumstances beyond the pandemic. Whilst prima facie the new DAPO is set to offer a more accessible form of protection (both because of the availability of third-party applications and because the legal requirements to secure an order are lower than the existing criteria for occupation orders), there is a need for thoughtful implementation to ensure that existing problems are not simply transferred across to the new regime.

Traditional university education promoted a separation between theory and practice. This divide, which is particularly prominent in the teaching of law, together with the dominance of the doctrinal approach in legal education, risks giving students the impression that the study and practice of law is mainly concerned with rules and principles. This thesis commentary seeks to challenge this approach by arguing that philosophy can inform both legal education and professional legal practice. It will be demonstrated that philosophy can play a role in developing students’ ability to engage in reflective practice, expand legal ethics beyond the codes of professional conduct, and promote feelings such as compassion and empathy. In other words, a holistic approach, underpinned by philosophical theories, can allow educators to address the aims of legal education. It will also be argued that Clinical Legal Education (CLE) is an optimal methodology for teaching philosophy in action.