Pepperdine Partners with Latin American Universities to Cohost International Conference on Legal Clinics and Access to Justice
The Caruso School of Law, in partnership with Ibmec University in Rio de Janeiro and
Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo, Brazil, and Universidad del Rosario
in Bogota, Colombia, cohosted the virtual International Conference on Legal Clinics
and Access to Justice from August 4 through August 6, 2021. The three-day multi-language
conference included clinical law professors from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Mexico, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States to examine their
work, encourage collaborations, and advance clinical legal education, access to justice,
and the rule of law globally.
The goal of the conference was to strengthen clinical programs in law schools around the world, especially in South and North America, to improve legal education and professional formation for lawyers, and to improve access to justice for individuals everywhere. The conference also provided an opportunity for clinical law professors and law school leaders to convene and learn about each other's work and explore ways to collaborate and increase capacity through the development of partnerships.
“Pepperdine is committed to experiential learning, clinical legal education, and global engagement, and this conference advances all of those initiatives,” said Jeffrey R. Baker, clinical professor of law and assistant dean of clinical education and global programs at the Caruso School of Law. As a featured panel speaker, Baker addressed the critical importance of collaboration with community partners and new clinic designs and pedagogy.
According to Baker, “clinical legal education is an essential part of preparing and forming excellent, ethical professionals. Ethical lawyering calls for a commitment to access to justice, pro bono service, and the rule of law. By strengthening legal clinics, improving legal education, and expanding access to justice, we are strengthening our legal and judicial systems in democracies around the world.”
The conference was organized by Paula Monteiro Danese, an attorney and law professor at Ibmec University where she leads the human rights clinic. The Caruso School of Law’s Community Justice Clinic is currently collaborating with Danese’s human rights clinic and lawyers at Universidad del Rosario on a human trafficking research and analysis project, with the goal to reporting their findings by the end of 2021.
For additional information about legal clinics at Pepperdine, visit the Caruso School of Law website.