CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION AND PUBLIC INTEREST LAWYERING IN NIGERIA: THE LAW TEACHERS' ROLES IN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Public Interest Lawyering simply refers to using the instrumentality of the law to effect social change for the interest and benefit of the general public. In Nigeria, the first generation of public interest activists and human rights advocates were mainly lawyers who had the courage to say no to the injustices and right abuses of the then military governments. Although, the lawyers presented a formidable force against the military and effectively used the instrumentality of the law to obtain justice, they were not particularly trained as public interest lawyers and that component was missing in our legal education curriculum. The objective of this paper therefore is to examine the evolution of the concept and practice of Public Interest Lawyering (PIL) and the role of law teachers in influencing and shaping young law students to imbibe the culture and practice of public interest lawyering. Doctrinal method was employed to analyze the available literature on the subject while analytical method was employed to particularly highlight the role of both teachers and students and how student-teacher interaction culminates to the forming of an ideal public interest lawyer. The major finding of the paper was that teachers have a unique role in shaping student’s perception of the obligation of providing pro bono services to indigent inmates among others.