Publication Date

11-20-2011

Document Type

Response or Comment

Organizational Units

Sturm College of Law, Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System

Keywords

Practice-ready lawyers, Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers, Carnegie Report, Experiential learning, Law school curriculum

Abstract

As David Segal’s November 19 article accurately reflects, the legal market is changing. Clients are no longer willing to foot the bill for young lawyers’ training, and thus law firms are increasingly looking to the law schools to produce practice-ready graduates.

The good news is that there are clear solutions to the problem, and they are already in motion. A report published in 2007 by the Carnegie Foundation entitled "Education Lawyers" identified precisely the problem described in Mr. Segal’s article and suggested that law schools should address it by developing courses that educate law students on three levels: knowledge, practice and professional identity. By providing experiential learning opportunities that combine these three values, law schools can produce practice-ready graduates, who are able to provide value to clients the day they leave law school.

Publication Statement

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