PENN LAW — Thanks largely to media portrayals in popular shows like “House” and “Seinfeld,” many people know that trained actors pose as ‘standardized patients’ to help medical students learn to become doctors. Lesser known is that 40 years ago, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies (“Gittis Legal Clinics”) made the bold decision to adapt similar ideas to the legal classroom. Today, actors portray a myriad of roles across almost all clinical courses, empowering students to develop vital interpersonal legal skills that help them grow into more effective and empathetic lawyers. Philadelphia actor Julie Cauffman has portrayed roles in clinic simulations for approximately 30 years. To her, taking on these roles is more than just work — it’s a chance to help students become better, more empathetic lawyers. “It’s not about the money; it’s about making a difference,” said Cauffman. “The Law School told me that this would make a difference in how the law would be presented to clients, and that attracted me more than anything else. As an attorney, you have to have a little more depth than just pressing for facts. That’s what the professors want to find: the whole attorney.”