Carnegie Report "Calls for Change" in Legal Education
A recently released study by the Carnegie Foundation took an in-depth look at the state of legal education in American and Canadian law schools. Specifically, they examined the teaching and practice of "thinking like a lawyer."
The study notes that "the dramatic results of the first year of law school’s emphasis on well-honed skills of legal analysis should be matched by similarly strong skill in serving clients and a solid ethical grounding." From that, it sees two "major limitations of legal education:"
*Most law schools give only casual attention to teaching students how to use legal thinking in the complexity of actual law practice.
*Law schools fail to complement the focus on skill in legal analyses with effective support for developing ethical and social skills.
Berkman Fellow Gene Koo's report, "New Skills, New Learning," published last month, examines the practical application of skills acquired during law school in legal practice. It comes to many of the same conclusions the Carnegie study does, with a strong focus on the technological familiarity students enter the work force possessing.
The study notes that "the dramatic results of the first year of law school’s emphasis on well-honed skills of legal analysis should be matched by similarly strong skill in serving clients and a solid ethical grounding." From that, it sees two "major limitations of legal education:"
*Most law schools give only casual attention to teaching students how to use legal thinking in the complexity of actual law practice.
*Law schools fail to complement the focus on skill in legal analyses with effective support for developing ethical and social skills.
Berkman Fellow Gene Koo's report, "New Skills, New Learning," published last month, examines the practical application of skills acquired during law school in legal practice. It comes to many of the same conclusions the Carnegie study does, with a strong focus on the technological familiarity students enter the work force possessing.