Unpacking the Apprenticeship of Professional Identity and Purpose: Insights from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement

Abstract

Drawing on data from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, this paper investigates the ways in which law students develop a sense of professional identity and purpose, the third apprenticeship identified by the Carnegie Foundation in its report, Educating Lawyers. The data offer only a first step toward unpacking how students learn about professional identity and purpose. Generally, the findings point to the importance of law school classes for effective learning about legal ethics, and to the role of clinical legal education as a means for deepening the effectiveness of lessons about ethics, professional identity and purpose.

Keywords: Legal education, ethics, professionalism

JEL Classification: I2, K4, J44