Training law students like athletes: experimenting with the constraints-led approach in law clinics

Abstract

We studied to what extent insights from the “constraints-led approach” (CLA) in physical education can be applied to skills teaching for law students in preparation for law clinics. In the CLA, athletes are challenged to independently find optimal movement solutions in a dynamic setting, rather than responding to verbal cues in a fixed environment. Similarly, we designed and implemented two CLA training exercises in preparation for law clinics aimed at implicit acquisition of problem analysis skills. Our analysis of retrospective pre-test (RPT) data finds that after the training exercises participants are better able to structure a clinical problem statement, and report being better equipped to find and analyse the “real” problem of a client in a clinic. We conclude that the CLA is an effective method for skill acquisition training in preparation for clinical legal education.