More Complicated than We Think: A Response to Rethinking Legal Education in Hard Times: The Recession, Practical Legal Education and the New Job Market

Abstract

This article is part of an upcoming set of essays in the Journal of Legal Education, addressing the implications of the recent economic downturn, the market for law graduates' employment, and implications for legal educators. The article disagrees with the premises of a student author who contends that legal education should increase reliance on adjunct faculty and reduce emphasis on faculty scholarship in order to reduce student costs. The article assesses such proposals and contends, instead, that the most fruitful response to the current economic downturn would be to bifurcate the bar examination (in order to keep law schools honest, allow law students to know where the stand and address deficiencies, and allow those unsure of their commitment to legal education to take time out and work before returning to complete law school). The author is a legal educator who was involved in the Carnegie Foundation's recent study of legal education (Educating Lawyers).

Keywords: legal Eucation