The Practicality of Practicums: Former Student on Being Prepared for Practice
Feb
13
2012
Author: Alli Gerkman, Online Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
At Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers, we highlight the work of professors, the needs of the profession and, increasingly, the experiences of the law students who take law classes that rise to the Carnegie model.
In the February edition of the Denver Bar Association Docket, lawyer Beth Tomerlin writes about...
Predictions for Legal Education in 2012
Jan
05
2012
Author: Rebecca Love Kourlis, Executive Director, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
What are your predictions for legal education in 2012? Dean Daniel B. Rodriguez of Northwestern Law recently asked commenters for their predictions, and also made five of his own, including the need for law schools to seek alternative sources of funding, to provide more transparent employment data, and to act as...
Practice-Ready: The False Dichotomy Between Theory and Practice
Dec
13
2011
Author: Martin J. Katz, Dean and Professor, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Pundits are drawn to extremes. Perhaps that is simply the nature of things. But in the debate over the future of legal education, espousing extremes hinders the discussion.
At one extreme are the loudest critics of the current state of legal education. They claim that law schools are focused almost...
Right Time, Right Place (We’re in the ABA Journal this Month)
Dec
01
2011
Author: Alli Gerkman, Online Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Be sure to look for Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers when the ABA Journal hits your mailbox this month (or take a sneak peek here). The article about our initiative notes the good timing of our launch (is there anyone committed to the legal profession who isn’t interested...
More Responses to the NYTimes on Legal Education
Nov
30
2011
Author: Alli Gerkman, Online Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Two Saturdays ago, the New York Times posted this article about the failure of law schools to adequately prepare lawyers for the practice of law. On Sunday, it featured the article on its coveted front page. And by Sunday afternoon, the online responses from law professors, lawyers, and others were...
Response to the David Segal article, November 19, 2011, in New York Times
Nov
20
2011
Author: William Sullivan, Rebecca Love Kourlis, and Martin Katz, Executive Committee, Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers
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...
Law Schools Owe Students More Than Candor
Nov
17
2011
Author: Rebecca Love Kourlis, Executive Director, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Law schools are being targeted by the media and by former students for failing to provide adequate information about actual employment of graduates, and for graduating more lawyers than the market can bear. Candor and market sensitivity are important, but they are effects – not causes. Law schools owe their...
The Carnegie Report Supports a Network of Legal Education Reformers
Nov
09
2011
Author: Alli Gerkman, Online Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Educating Lawyers, often referred to in legal circles as the “Carnegie Report,” has found its way into a number of articles and blog posts lately. Just Monday, it was cited by Professor Benjamin Spencer of Washington and Lee School of Law in his Washington Post guest post urging...
Conference on Technology in Legal Education Calls for Proposals by November 1
Oct
20
2011
Author: Alli Gerkman, Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning and North Carolina Central School of Law are co-hosting a conference on March 3, 2012, which will focus on the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning in and out of the classroom. They announced a call for proposals, due November 1, 2011.
From the conference...
In-House Counsel: Law Schools Must Play Key Role in Training Practice-Ready Lawyers
Oct
19
2011
Author: Alli Gerkman, Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
The online legal community was abuzz Monday with the news that corporate clients don’t want to foot the bill for new lawyer training thanks to a Wall Street Journal article that asks: “First-Year Associates: Are They Worth It?”
Of course, we’ve all heard this...
Family Law Course Blends Legal Doctrine with Field Observation and Simulation
Oct
14
2011
Author: Alli Gerkman, Content Manager, IAALS - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Four years ago, Professor Andrew Schepard and his colleagues at Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University developed a family law class that would strike a balance between doctrine and skills development. This week, we added it to our growing collection of innovative law school courses. In a...
Why This Time Is Different: The Perfect Storm and the Future of Legal Education
Oct
10
2011
Author: Martin J. Katz, Dean and Associate Professor, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
When we discuss legal education reform, some of the more jaded members of our community often ask, “Why is this time any different?” They rattle off a list of dust-covered reports about proposed reforms for legal education, often dating back several decades, and wonder how we can...
Going Public with Innovation: Comparing Survey Respondents to All Law Schools and Non-Respondents
Oct
06
2011
Author: Stephen Daniels, Visiting Lecturer, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
This is part three of a series discussing and analyzing the results of a survey sent by Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers to 210 U.S. and Canadian law schools to explore innovations in legal education.
As described in an earlier post, Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers initiated a unique, far-reaching survey of 210...
Going Public with Innovation: What the ETL Survey Aims to Discover
Sep
15
2011
Author: Stephen Daniels, Visiting Lecturer, Sturm College of Law
In the first blog for Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers, Bill Sullivan argued that legal education is more than meritocracy – that while academic merit is essential in the training of lawyers as professionals it is not enough. It is necessary, but not alone sufficient for professional excellence. This is...
Robert J. Rhee: Theory and Practice, and the Law School Firm
Aug
30
2011
Author: Robert J. Rhee, Professor, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Recently Brad Borden and I wrote a paper titled “The Law School Firm” (forthcoming South Carolina Law Review). The article idea is simple: Law schools should own and operate affiliated law firms where graduating students go to get trained in the practice of law for a fixed duration,...
Living Learning: Legal Education Beyond the Old Model
Aug
19
2011
Author: William Sullivan, Director, Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers
Law school once set the pattern for modern professional education. In his study of Christopher Columbus Langdell, originator of the case method of teaching law, historian Bruce A. Kimball credits him with the invention of meritocracy as a system for recruiting and training professionals. Langdell’s new model...
Innovation is in the air, but what is it and what difference does it make?
Aug
18
2011
Author: William Sullivan, Director, Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers
The legal academy is giving increased attention to the question of the education needed to appropriately equip today’s students to serve the needs of clients, employers, and society at large. Schools are experimenting with a wide array of innovations. It is important to the larger enterprise of legal...
