The value of community engagement (some ideas for UK law schools from the US).

This paper will consider the current importance of the graduate skills agenda in relation to a UK Law Degree. The value of including more socio-legal opportunities will be considered together with comparative consideration of what is happening in this regard in North America and the fact that the ABA recommends that law schools make pro bono opportunities available to their law students. To illustrate the value of community engagement, the paper will draw from a small-scale research study undertaken at the University of Pennsylvania's Law School (Penn Law) involving students enrolled on a clinical (active learning) course. The paper will reveal how those students engage with their local community to assist the administration of justice and identify the valuable skills they acquire when placed in a practical learning environment. The paper will make observations as to what useful lessons can be learned from the American law school approach in terms of embedding socio and clinical learning opportunities within the curriculum so as to enable UK Law students to learn more actively in their law schools. The current access to justice crisis in UK civil courts will provide a framework for this paper and some suggestions will be presented as to how law students can help the growing number of UK citizens who are unable to access legal services whilst at the same time enhancing their own practical legal skills and competencies.