Dr Tribe Mukwevho

Assistant Professor

School: Northumbria School of Law

Dr Tribe Mukwevho is an Assistant Professor of Law at Northumbria Law School, University of Northumbria, United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Tribe read Law at the School of Law, University of Northumbria. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Law in 2017, a Master of Laws (LLM) in Advanced Legal Practice in Human Rights and Civil Liberties in 2010, a Post-Graduate Diploma in the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) in 2009 and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) in 2007. Tribe received his Call to the Bar of England and Wales in July 2009 and is a member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, London, United Kingdom. Tribe’s doctoral thesis, which he completed in October 2016, was entitled: Clinical Pedagogy: A Systematic Review of Factors Influential in the Establishment and Sustainability of Clinical Programmes and a Grounded Theory Explication of a Clinical Legal Education Case Study in Zimbabwe. Tribe has previously taught Civil Litigation on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) for those aspiring to qualify as Barristers, and currently teaches on the MLAW (Exempting) (Integrated Masters) and the LLB (Hons) Programmes. He is a Law Clinic Supervisor within the University of Northumbria’s award winning Student Law Office. Tribe supervises LLB and MLAW students undertaking live-client cases within Northumbria Law School’s Law Clinic. He is experienced in preparing appeal cases and representing clients at Immigration Appeal Tribunals and Social Security Appeal Tribunals, having previously worked as an Immigration Law Practitioner and Social Security Law Specialist. Tribe has and continues to publish in academic journals such as, for example, the Law Teacher, the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education (IJCLE) and the Asian Journal of Legal Education (AJLE). He peer-reviews journal articles submitted for publication to one of the leading international academic journals in the United Kingdom. Tribe also undertakes supervision of postgraduate research students undertaking PhD studies. Outside academia, Tribe is a member of the Board of Trustees for Citizens Advice Newcastle, a local independent charitable organisation that provides free, confidential, independent and impartial advice to people in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Campus Address

Room 106, City Campus East
Northumbria Law School, Faculty of Business and Law
University of Northumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

The research undertaken by Dr Tribe Mkwebu for his PhD in Law indicated that there were various positive and negative factors influencing the creation and sustainability of clinical programmes. Enabling factors were most frequently related to positive intervening conditions such as, for example, the availability of a healthy financial base upon which a clinical programme is built. Impeding factors were most frequently associated with negative intervening conditions such as, for example, the resistance to clinical pedagogy. The clinical scholarship reviewed by Tribe revealed a wealth of knowledge on key aspects to consider while founding a clinical programme. However, despite the emphasis on the importance of maximising the benefits accrued using a legal pedagogy that combines theory and practice in the education of future lawyers, little has been written on strategies to sustain already existing clinical programmes. There are still critical knowledge gaps requiring attention. To fill in the knowledge gaps, Tribe undertook a ground breaking systematic review of literature on the formation of law clinics as part of his research for his PhD study and created a map of influential factors, he believes ought to be taken into consideration when planning to establish clinical programmes and/or sustain those that are already in existence. Tribe’s research on clinical pedagogy breaks new ground as the first piece of research in the field of law clinics whose methodological approach has included the undertaking of a systematic review of literature to identify influential factors important to consider when planning to sustain or foster a new clinical programme. This is the area of law in which, primarily lie Tribe's research interests. He is particularly interested in analysing how different factors, such as for example, the resource intensive nature of law clinics, the integration of a clinic component within the legal education curriculum and the tension between the social justice and the educational goals of a clinical pedagogy, influence why law clinics are formed and how they are sustained.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Clinical Scholarship’s Contribution to the Global Clinical Movement: Progress Made and More to Do, Wortham, L., McFaul, H., Mkwebu, T. 1 Oct 2025, The Global Clinical Movement: Educating Lawyers for Social Justice, Oxford, Oxford University Press
Racial Equality and Inclusivity in Academia: Perspectives and Strategies for Anti-Racism Outcomes, Mkwebu, T. 1 Sep 2024, The Palgrave Handbook of Antiracism in Human Resource Development, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan
The Indigent Person and Legal Aid Provision in Zimbabwe: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Evidence Impact on Access to Justice, Mkwebu, T. 23 Jul 2024, The Indigent Person and Legal Aid Provision in Zimbabwe: Using Appreciative Impact to Evidence Impact on Access to Justice
Academic Writing and Research on Clinical Legal Education in Zimbabwe:: Making a Clarion Call for Change, Mkwebu, T. 17 Jul 2023, European Network for Clinical Legal Education (ENCLE)
From Silos to Synergies: Creating Connections to Advance Social Justice/Clinical Legal Education, Mkwebu, T. 11 Dec 2022, Global Alliance for Justice Education (11th GAJE WWC) & International Journal of Clinical Legal Education (20th Annual Conference)
Research on Clinical Legal Education: Unpacking the Evidence, Mkwebu, T. 2020, The Clinical Legal Education Handbook, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
Striving for the Preservation of a Free Society: The Role of Clinical Legal Education, Mkwebu, T. 3 Jul 2019, 7th ENCLE/IJCLE Conference in Bratislava
The Hall of Mirrors: a teaching team talking about talking about reflection, Thomson, C., Bengtsson, L., Mkwebu, T. Oct 2019, In: The Law Teacher
Key Essentials for Getting the Most Out of Live-Client Clinic Supervision: Strategies for Law Clinic Students, Mkwebu, T. 28 Nov 2018, International Journal of Clinical Legal Education (IJCLE) Conference at Monash Law School
Unpacking Clinical Scholarship: Why Clinics Start and How They Last, Mkwebu, T. 1 Jan 2017, In: Asian Journal of Legal Education

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Other: Board of Trustees Member - Citizens Advice Newcastle - Newcastle upon Tyne 2024
Other: Peer Reviewer - Journal of Legal Research Methodology (JLRM) 2023
Other: Peer Reviewer - International Journal of Clinical Legal Education (IJCLE) 2017