Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Publication Information

44 Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality 9 (2026)

Abstract

In an era marked by democratic backsliding, systemic inequality, and widespread disillusionment with legal institutions, traditional legal education has proven not merely inadequate, but actively complicit in reproducing the institutional norms, professional identities, and hierarchies that have enabled democratic erosion and the misuse of law as a tool of exclusion and domination.

This Article describes a comprehensive, justice-oriented framework that reimagines the structure, content, and outcomes of legal education to better meet those needs. Critical Lawyering Pedagogy (CLP) draws from Critical Pedagogy, Narrative Theory, and Critical Lawyering and challenges the entrenched hierarchies and exclusionary norms that dominate most law schools and the legal profession.

The Article begins by critiquing the traditional law school model, which relies heavily on the case method and Socratic dialogue—pedagogies that have been used to perpetuate the myth of legal neutrality and marginalize students whose identities and experiences fall outside dominant norms. It then articulates the theoretical foundations of CLP, emphasizing the braided spiral of Narrative Theory, critical reflection, and normative lawyering values such as client-centeredness, professionalism, and critical theory. This spiral guides students through a developmental arc that integrates doctrine, skills, and identity formation from the first day of law school through graduation. The Article also explores how CLP redefines professionalism—not as conformity to exclusionary norms, but as a dynamic, identity-affirming practice rooted in ethical lawyering and social transformation.

Through detailed examples from the writer’s own teaching as well as those of professors at law schools around the country, the Article demonstrates how CLP transforms classroom dynamics, curricular content, and professional identity formation. It centers student’s lived experiences, fosters authentic inquiry into power and hierarchy, and equips future lawyers with the tools to engage in reflective, empathetic, and justice-driven practice.

Building on and showcasing the work of critical lawyers, scholars, and teachers over the past fifty years, CLP provides a framework for a legal education that is responsive to the urgent needs of our time. It prepares students not merely to enter the legal profession, but to transform it—reclaiming law as a tool for liberation, resistance, and democratic renewal.

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