Clinical Contexts: Theory and Practice in Law and Supervision

Introduction

Nowhere is the intersection of legal theory and legal practice more intense than in supervising students representing real clients on real cases. Supervision is an ongoing dialogue between student and teacher about that representation. The teacher gives shape to the dialogue through each deci-sion about what to include in, and how to conduct, the discussion. The student’s practice is the focus of the supervisory discussion, but the teacher frames how that practice is understood. In shaping the dialogue, the teacher conveys both explicitly and implicitly a vision of law, legal institutions, and lawyering.