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7 Clinical L. Rev. 273 (2000-2001)
Clients Don't Take Sabbaticals: The Indispensable in-House Clinic and the Teaching of Empathy

handle is hein.journals/clinic7 and id is 279 raw text is: CLIENTS DON'T TAKE SABBATICALS: THE INDISPENSABLE IN-HOUSE CLINIC AND THE TEACHING OF EMPATHY PHILIP M. GENTY* INTRODUCTION After almost 12 years in law teaching, I approached my first sab- batical with a single goal: to free myself from cases. At that time my clinic clients were primarily parents who were involved in family court proceedings in which they were trying to preserve their parental rights and get their children out of the foster care system. Such cases are emotionally draining for both the client and the lawyer. Thus, while I welcomed the chance to have a semester off from teaching and attend- ing faculty and committee meetings, I felt that I needed a break from the demands of lawyering on behalf of clients. It did not work out that way. Given that the clinic would not be taught during my semester off, my dean was less than thrilled about the idea of hiring a lawyer simply to handle my 25 or so open clinic cases. At first I was prepared to push the issue, but upon closer exam- ination of my caseload, I realized the obvious - the handful of espe- cially demanding cases involved clients to whom the clinic and I had the greatest personal obligation. So I spent the next six months doing many things I wanted to do, as well as the one thing I had not wanted to do: appearing in family court. But a funny thing happened on the way to the end of the sab- batical. I came to remember why I had first been drawn to client rep- resentation and more specifically to clinical teaching. In so doing I also came, again, to understand the extent to which the in-house, ac- tual client clinic1 fills a unique and invaluable place in the law school * Clinical Professor, Columbia Law School. Director, Prisoners and Families Clinic. I am grateful to Elizabeth Chen, my extraordinary research assistant for three years, for all of her work. Special thanks to Maria Arias, Stephen Ellmann, Mary Jo Eyster, Jonathan Hyman, Carol Liebman, Barbara Schatz, Robert Seibel, Jane Spinak, Judith Waksberg, Mary Zulack and the participants in the Clinical Theory Workshop at New York Law School in September 2000, for their helpful comments. I also want to acknowledge the support of Columbia's summer stipend program. This essay is dedicated to Madalyn, Ma- ria and Michelle, three women who entered my life shortly after I began clinical teaching and who, in the many years that they have been my clients, have taught me the meaning of courage and perseverence in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. 1 By in-house, actual client clinic, I mean a clinic in which the students provide di- rect representation of clients, and in which the faculty member has ultimate responsibility for the cases. This definition does not include simulation programs or externship models in

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