Perhaps no subject has captivated media attention more than the alleged “crisis in legal education.” From articles in major periodicals such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, to the multitude of blog posts that have proliferated in recent years, reports of the decline of American legal education have been prolific and unrelenting. Regardless of the fact that all of higher education faces similar challenges of cost, relevancy, and the need for improvement in outcomes, the media have generally, yet persistently, described legal education as a behemoth that is slow to change and declining in demand.
The media’s focus on the dilemmas facing American law schools, together with the reality of the challenges they have highlighted, provides an opportunity for reasoned reflection. It has become a truism to say that law schools must change. Perhaps more important, however, is the normative imperative to examine the value that American legal education provides and the inevitable changes that ensure its relevancy in a complex market.
The invitation to participate in this timely Symposium provides an opportunity to reflect on what I consider to be the omnipresent evolution of American legal education. Like any institution, context and market forces compel adaptation. Accordingly, law schools have continued to change. This adaptation, or what I refer to as evolution, has been pedantically constant, though arguably inconsistent over time. Timeliness of needed change remains a legitimate concern; however, change will undoubtedly occur given legal education’s need for market relevancy.
My thesis in this discussion focuses on the premise that legal education has always been in a constant state of change. In fact, the changes stimulated by the decline in applications to law schools and less market demand for law school graduates have accelerated the continuing evolution of American legal education. From its inception based in apprenticeship to its present form that includes classroom instruction heavily supplemented with experiential learning, legal education in the United States continues to evolve, and the resultant programmatic changes are reflective of market realities.
My role as president of the Association of American Law Schools (“AALS”) has provided a unique vantage point from which to view the changing landscape of legal education. This examination, both through independent research and anecdotal information captured in interviews with faculties all over the country, confirms that law schools are modifying their programs of education and, as a result, are preparing students for a demanding, global market. The mission of AALS has been invigorated by the challenges facing legal education, with the Association now serving as a resource for member law schools and a champion of American legal education in general.
This Article describes the continual evolution of American legal education. Part I of the Article examines briefly the history of legal training in this country, noting both its beginnings as a practical exercise in “reading the law” to its more modern incarnation that includes classroom instruction with increasing opportunities to exercise practical skills. The discussion of skills dominates Part II of the Article, noting the implementation of innovative programs at many law schools. The Article concludes with the premise that, despite the need for speedier change, American legal education, with its grounding in critical thinking skills and growing emphasis on professionalism, remains both relevant and essential in an increasingly global market.
