Page 2 - Law Schools

S2 | Monday, april 20, 2015 | Law Schools
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Education

Changing the ‘How’ But Not the ‘Why’

extent to which knowledge of the appellate cases, and the traditional titative methods are also becoming
by JereMy Paul
law is cheaper and easier to obtain issue-spotting exam have proven part of the law school repertoire,
for everyone with access to a com- successful at training lawyers in despite the stereotype that law-
Law school applications are puter. Future lawyers can expect these familiar ways. But if this is yers are math-phobic. even some
declining more slowly and to earn less for merely informing all we do, our students will gradu- introduction to strategic planning
entry-level hiring is beginning clients about the law. how lawyers ate unprepared for an economy in is finding its way into law school

to recover. First-year law school will add value in this changed envi- which a wider array of skills will be classrooms. These are all salutary
enrollments have shrunk from ronment is the question of the day. needed to thrive.
developments.
more than 52,000 in 2010 to a far how lawyers should be trained to most sensible law schools will Simply offering modest incursions
more sustainable 38,000 in 2014. do so should be a top priority for respond to economic pressures by into the traditional law school cur-
Recent studies by professors Frank every legal educator in the united adding courses, modules, extern- riculum, however, will not be enough
mcintyre and michael Simkovic States.
ships and other instruction in some to provide our graduates with what
continue to vindicate the long-run Some things, of course, will never of the skills lawyers need in the 21st lawyers need now. Truly innovative
earning power of the J.D. degree. change. clients will always need century. already there is growing law schools will start from the prem-
Perhaps you can hear law school advocates capable of translating recognition that law school should ise that as law practice is rapidly

deans breathing sighs of relief. alas, large amounts of complex informa- include training in financial literacy changing some reconceptualization
it is way too soon for that.
tion into compelling written and so that graduates grasp the differ- of the core curriculum will be need-
Law schools that view nascent oral arguments. People of means ence between an income statement ed. after all, even those administer-
positive trends as license to return will readily pay for counselors and a balance sheet. Law schools ing licensing exams for taxi drivers
to business as usual will be missing who can assist them in memorial- are emulating business schools in New York have changed the test to
the far more profound changes in izing transactions, negotiating deals, by encouraging group endeavors remove knowledge of the city map.
the legal profession that demand and navigating regulatory complex- that stress the value of teamwork. it’s much more important now to be
new approaches to legal education. ity. and the lawyerly skills of sepa- work on simulated legal problems skilled with a gPS. Law schools need
The most significant change is the
rating wheat from chaff, managing is now designed explicitly to intro- to ask ourselves how our profession

complexity, and paying attention duce students to what it takes to has been equally transformed and
to detail will be prized by clients manage a legal project. a global per- how to prepare our students for
JEREmY PAUL is dean and professor of law and employers for years to come. spective is now a core element of the new world. here are some key
at Northeastern University School of Law.
The Socratic method, the reading of
many law school programs. Quan-
ideas for new courses and other key

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Inside

S4 Career:
S6 Marketing:
S8 JobSearCh:
S10 ProfeSSional
J.D. Advantage Versus
The Writing You’ll Do, Think Outside the Box DeveloPMent:
J.D. Required:
And the Writing To Showcase Skills Networking Your Way

The Old Rules No Longer Apply They’ll Read
Firms Really Seek
To a Great Legal Career
By Jill Backer
By Joy Martini
By carol kanarek
By Jack killion

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