Acknowledging the relevance of empathy in clinical legal education. Some proposals from the experience of the University of Brescia (IT) and Valencia (ESP)

Abstract

Legal Clinical Education is experiencing a great development in the Spanish and the Italian university context. Nevertheless, it comes with new challenges that professors have not faced until now: students working in the field with people in situations of vulnerability or in complex realities. Given that one of the major goals of CLE is the preparation not only of professionals for the practice of law, but also people concerned about social justice and social diversity, this piece of research looks into the significance of working with students about the key role that empathy plays in the development of their relation with the people they assist. Moreover, we will suggest some activities to be introduced in the clinical training plan with this purpose, and lastly, we will construct some final thoughts about this research and the feedback we obtain from our clinical colleagues.