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7 Clinical L. Rev. 341 (2000-2001)
Unbundling and Law School Clinics: Where's the Pedagogy

handle is hein.journals/clinic7 and id is 347 raw text is: UNBUNDLING AND LAW SCHOOL CLINICS: WHERE'S THE PEDAGOGY? MARY HELEN MCNEAL* This article explores unbundling, also known as discrete task assis- tance and limited legal assistance, and the role it might play in a law school clinical program. After defining unbundled legal services, ex- amples of which include pro se clinics, hotlines, and community edu- cation programs, the article outlines the advantages and disadvantages of such services offered on behalf of low- and moder- ate-income clients. The article then outlines the pedagogical disad- vantages of providing unbundled legal services in law school clinics, which include limited skill development and the risk that law students will accept dual standards of representation for rich and poor clients. The article also outlines the pedagogical advantages of unbundled clinics, which include addressing the profession's resource allocation problem, experiencing ethical challenges, evaluating client results, ex- posure to alternative lawyer-client relationships, and the development of some lawyering skills. The article then utilizes a clinical and law student narrative to evaluate the merits of such clinics and their ap- propriateness for three hypothetical law students. Recognizing that some schools will incorporate unbundled clinics into their curricu- lum, the article concludes by describing a pedagogically sound un- bundled clinic, with course components designed to overcome an unbundled clinic's limitations. INTRODUCTION Despite the economic prosperity of the nineties, many people in this country continue to live in poverty.' One of the many things poor * Associate Professor and Clinical Director, The University of Montana School of Law. This article was supported by a summer research grant from The University of Mon- tana School of Law. I am grateful for the time and helpful comments of Justine Dunlap, Russell Engler, Kate Kruse, Kathleen Magone, and Peggy Tonon, who read earlier drafts of this article. A special thanks goes to my research assistant, Kelton Olney, for his hard work, good humor, and good ideas, and to Lynn Fagan for her proofreading and editing. Finally, thanks to Wendy Owens for her friendly word processing assistance. 1 In 1998, the poverty rate in the United States was 12.7 percent. <http://www.cen- sus.govlhhes/income/income98/prs99asc.html> (visited Sept. 14, 2000). The United States Census Bureau reports that 32.3 million people lived in poverty in 1999. <http://www. census.govlhhes/income/income99/prsOOasc.html> (visited Feb. 5, 2001). Poverty is mea- sured by using a set of household monetary income thresholds which vary by both family size and composition, but which remain constant for every geographic region. <http://

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