Teaching Lawyers to Think Like Leaders: The Next Big Shift in Legal Education

25 Pages Posted: 24 Jul 2021 Last revised: 15 Dec 2021

See all articles by April M. Barton

April M. Barton

Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University

Date Written: May 26, 2021

Abstract

The old saying is that students go to law school to learn to think like lawyers. While thinking like a lawyer is indeed critical to becoming a good lawyer, we must also teach our law students to think like leaders. Countless leaders in politics, government, business, and the non-profit sector are lawyers. While these lawyers are smart, precise, thorough, and honorable professionals, our public and private sectors would be further served by lawyers who are also taught to understand what leadership is (and is not) and who have honed their own leadership awareness and skills.

Keywords: leadership, legal education, professional responsibility, lawyer skills, leaders, legal skills, values

Suggested Citation

Barton, April M., Teaching Lawyers to Think Like Leaders: The Next Big Shift in Legal Education (May 26, 2021). Duquesne University School of Law Research Paper No. 2021-02, Baylor Law Review, Vol. 73, No. 1, 2021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3891019

April M. Barton (Contact Author)

Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University ( email )

600 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
United States

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