Author
Mrs Riti Naik
Organisation/Institution
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
Country
INDIA
Panel
Legal Education
Title
Anatomy of Clinical Legal Education
Abstract
Clinical legal education has moved from the periphery of legal pedagogy to the centre of contemporary debates on law-school reform. Bibliometric indicators reveal a marked rise in scholarship on CLE between 2014 and 2023, with terms such as “clinical legal education,” “access to justice,” and “reflective practice” showing steady growth in frequency and thematic centrality. These trends mirror a broader pedagogical shift that prioritises experiential learning, ethics, and community-centred legal work. While such developments are well-documented in Western jurisdictions—where clinical programmes have long been integrated into accreditation standards and supported by institutional funding—the evolution of CLE in South Asia reflects a more complex trajectory shaped by constitutional commitments to social justice, resource constraints, and evolving regulatory frameworks. This paper examines the anatomy of clinical legal education through a systematic reading of quantitative trends and qualitative themes in the recent literature. It argues that although South Asian law schools increasingly recognise CLE as a core pedagogical tool, the region retains a strong emphasis on doctrinal training, with clinics often operating as peripheral or voluntary initiatives. Comparative analysis with the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia shows that Western models tend to adopt a structured, supervised, and outcome-driven clinical pedagogy, whereas South Asian experiences are mediated by concerns over accreditation norms, limited clinical infrastructure, and uneven faculty expertise. These divergences, however, coexist with striking points of convergence: the growing importance of access to justice, student-centred learning, and reflection-based assessment. By mapping the thematic networks across both regions, the paper suggests that South Asian legal education stands at a pivotal moment. Strengthening CLE through regulatory clarity, faculty training, and partnerships with legal aid institutions can create pathways that not only enhance professional competence but also deepen the justice-oriented mission of law schools. The analysis offers a grounded framework for re-imagining clinical legal education in a manner that is contextually responsive yet globally conversant.
Biography
Riti Naik is an Assistant Professor of Law at UPES, Dehradun, where she teaches across core law subjects and contributes to the school’s academic administration and curriculum development. With over five years of experience in legal academia and a strong grounding in interdisciplinary research, her work explores the intersections of intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge systems, and sustainable innovation. She holds an LL.M. with a specialization in Intellectual Property Rights from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata, where she completed a dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sreenivasulu N.S. Her doctoral research, initiated in 2019, advances critical conversations on the protection of indigenous knowledge and the role of intellectual property frameworks in promoting equitable, sustainability-driven innovation. Riti’s academic career includes key research roles at WBNUJS, first as a Research Assistant and later as a Junior Research Fellow, where she contributed to institutional research centres, supported NAAC activities, and co-authored academic modules for the Government of India’s Diploma in Consumer Law programme. Her scholarship includes a chapter on plant varieties and traditional knowledge published by Thomson Reuters (2024), peer-reviewed articles on intellectual property and sustainable development, and presentations at international platforms such as the Asian Law Institute (ASLI) and the IPIRA Conference, Hanoi. Alongside her research contributions, Riti has been invited as a speaker for IFS Officer Training Courses and various faculty development programmes, reflecting her growing engagement in capacity-building and academic outreach. Prior to transitioning into full-time academia, she gained litigation experience in Kolkata, where she handled SARFAESI matters and undertook due diligence for banks and NBFCs. Her work is informed by a commitment to critical pedagogy, innovation in legal education, and the integration of social justice values into contemporary IP discourse.
