Law Commons^™

Practice-Ready: The False Dichotomy Between Theory And Practice, Martin J. Katz

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The leaders in education reform understand that the goal is to create multi-faceted and balanced graduates – those who not only understand the law at a deep level, but also know how to use the law to solve their clients’ problems. Yes, it is probably important for a future litigator to understand how to take a deposition. But if we teach that skill, it is not instead of teaching the doctrine that will support the theory of the case (and the ability to research and understand that doctrine), or even the theory behind the doctrine, which would allow the graduate …

Response To The David Segal Article, November 19, 2011, In New York Times, Martin J. Katz

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

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 …

Why This Time Is Different: The Perfect Storm And The Future Of Legal Education, Martin J. Katz

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

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 be optimistic about the prospects for meaningful reform now.

The answer is that we are in the midst of a perfect storm; one in which several powerful forces are driving law schools toward reform.

Outcomes & Assessment: A Golden Opportunity For Lrw Professors, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The American Bar Association is currently discussing drafts of a proposal to shift the law school accreditation standards from inputs measurements (such as numbers of books, faculty student ratios, etc.) to outcomes assessment. While still in discussion, this shift has the potential to create profound change in legal education. For the first time, law schools may be held accountable – beyond the bar exam – for what and how they teach their students. Law schools all across the country are busy trying to determine what this will mean, and how to go about meeting the new ABA standard.

New Ways To Teach Drafting And Drafting Ethics, Lisa Penland, David I.C. Thomson, Susan Duncan, Karen J. Sneddon, Susan M. Chesler

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

As foreign as it can seem to not be in a physical classroom with bodies sitting in the chairs listening, it is a very different way of teaching but it can be very effective. If you go through this process of developing and dividing outcomes, dividing modules, and selecting the right technology, it can work. And that is kind of a scary thought to some people. Perhaps not people who have come to this section today or to this conference about What's Next, but for many of our colleagues, this is kind of a scary thought – that you might …