1. Client interviewing in diverse contexts: its global implications

2. Introduction Nottingham Law School

3. How to become a … Solicitor –Undergraduate law degree (LLB) –Vocational course (LPC) (interviewing assessment) –Training contract Barrister –Undergraduate law degree (LLB) –Vocational course (BPTC) (conferencing assessment) –Pupillage Registered trade mark attorney –Academic stage –Professional certificate in trade mark law and practice (interviewing assessment) –2 years supervised practice/4 years unsupervised practice (in parallel with study) Continuing legal education for all

4. Client interviewing skills

5. Variations Students at different levels Specialisation in different areas Different kinds of client context Different cultures Problems of different degrees of complexity Different teachers and assessors Different kinds of interview

6. Variation and variation theory Learning from variation ourselves Harnessing variation theory as a pedagogy with students.

7. The educational challenge Variation Standardisation

8. Standardisation: Interview structure Calgary/Cambridge medical model British Columbia legal model Flexible tool Balance Build in variation

9. SCs : the outsider as insider The SC approach challenges: 1.Curriculum methods 2.Ethics of the client encounter 3.The cognitive poverty of conventional law school assessment 4.Law school as a self-regarding, monolithic construct 5.Law school categories of employment 6.The curricular isolation of clinic within law schools 7.Hollowed-out skills rhetoric 8.Conventional forms of regulation by regulatory bodies 9.The role of regulator, as encourager of innovation & radical reform…? 10.Disciplinary boundaries – what about a SC Unit that’s interdisciplinary? 11.Local jurisdictional practices: how might such a project work globally?

10. The client dimension Different kinds of client context Different cultures

11. Cultural communication challenges for the lawyer “the ability to effectively and appropriately execute communication behaviors to elicit a desired response in a specific environment” (Chen & Starosta 1998)

12. Six stumbling blocks of intercultural communication Laray M Barna (1997) Anxiety Assuming similarity instead of difference Ethnocentrism Stereotypes and prejudice Nonverbal misinterpretations Language

13. The lawyer dimension Different kinds of interview Specialisation in different areas Students at different levels Different kinds of client context

14. The Lawyer – a moving target? The lawyer’s role(s)? Different kinds of lawyers: –New/established –Generalist/niche Context –Private practice/in house –Financial targets/budgetary constraints

15. Interviewing “registers” Scribe Journalist Interpreter Detective Editor Psychologist Teacher Lawyer…

16. The client focus (Boulle & Nesic)

17. Interviewing “static”

18. The interview “endgame” Lawyers and “informed consent” –Comfort in patterns Commerciality and pragmatism –Limited palette of options: “good enough” rather than “best” options “Advice” or assistance with a decision? –Empowerment of the client Building rapport or establishing credibility

19. The teaching dimension Different teachers and assessors Students at different levels Problems of different degrees of complexity

20. The algebra of scenario design Novices (LLB)Vocational coursesExperts (practitioner courses) No experienceLimited or variable quality experience Theories in use/espoused theories Scenario designRealisticWithin comfort zoneOut of comfort zone Standardised featuresStructure: as scaffoldStructure: as best/normal practice/confirmatory Structure: as tool for evaluation and reflection Timescale, names, dates, values Interlocking problems, client expectations/personal challenge for lawyer Messy problems, incomplete information, legally unclear Variable featuresMissing facts, detailsClient background ? Areas of lawComplex legal areaUnfamiliar legal/business context (inc. international) Additional techniques (eg cognitive interviewing) Additional contexts (language, videoconference) Goalcompetencecapabilitytransformative learning

21. The educational challenge Variation Of student level Of problem Of client Of culture As a teaching technique Standardisation Of interview structure Of clients As a tool

22. The problems –Standardised tools: servant or master? –Recognising different levels and mapping a trajectory between them –A wider range of clients and client contexts in a globalised context The solutions? –Proportionate use of the checklist –Effective use of the standardised client –Teaching for cultural competence –Embedding variation and reflection on action as teaching tools –Collaborate and learn!

23. Jane.Ching@ntu.ac.uk Hilary.Twycross@ntu.ac.uk Matthew.Homewood@ntu.ac.uk Jane.Jarman@ntu.ac.uk

24. Client interviewing in diverse contexts: its global implications