Legal Interviewing and Counseling: An Introduction

Robert D. Dinerstein, American University Washington College of Law
Stephen Ellmann
Isabelle Gunning
Ann Shalleck, American University Washington College of Law

Abstract

In this article, the authors, who are writing their own textbook on interviewing and counseling, reflect on the ways in which Gary Bellow and Bea Moulton's groundbreaking textbook, The Lawyering Process, has shaped and is shaping their work. The authors include the introductory chapter of their forthcoming textbook interspersed with commentary on the influence of Bellow & Moulton on each of the primary themes through which their textbook will explore interviewing and counseling: variations in the lawyer-client relationship, context, connection, ethics and theory-driven lawyering. This review allows them to evaluate, not only how deeply and pervasively the Bellow & Moulton text has shaped clinical education, but also how much the environment of clinical education and scholarship has changed since the publication of The Lawyering Process.