Practice Ready: Are We There Yet?
Boston College Journal of Law Social Justice, Vol. 32, pg. 247 (2012)
31 Pages Posted: 22 May 2015
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
Clinical legal education is garnering more attention as a vehicle for providing the training required to graduate "practice ready" lawyers as law schools face economic concerns and increasing expectations from the legal market. To prepare students, law schools are increasingly recognizing that they need significant curricular reform. Schools must combine the traditional case method of teaching with experiential learning in a far more intentional way than they have done. This Article proposes accepting a framework designed to achieve such goals, wherein first year classes relate doctrine to practice more effectively, the second year relies heavily on simulations to teach doctrine and skills, and the experience culminates with students spending their third year in practice. This approach would leave creativity and expression of mission to course development within the accepted framework.
Keywords: legal clinical education, law clinic, curriculum reform, law curriculum reform, legal clinical work, legal education
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