Volume 6 Issue 1

Computer and Internet Applications in a Clinical Law Program at the University of New Mexico

Scott A. Taylor*

In the United States, the clinical learning method is an important component of legal education because it effectively imparts legal knowledge and professional skills and competencies to law students. The University of New Mexico currently offers a clinical course in which students use computers, expert system software, on-line legal research, cd-rom legal research, local and internet email, and internet access to prepare federal and state tax returns for the working poor so they will be able to claim their earned income tax credit and low income rebate. The purpose of this course is to expose students to applied technologies in a legal context so that they will increase their computer literacy while acquiring other important substantive legal knowledge and lawyering skills.