The Shark

law schools need to get that future flow.

[julie anne]

Law schools need an upgrade, according to AM Law Daily columnist Paul Lippe. Or, in the words of the Black Eyed Peas, law schools are so 2000 and late, and need to be more 3008.

Lippe states that law schools have evolved from apprenticeships, to trade schools, and finally to their current state, where they focus on scholastic gymnastics and abstract thought.

But this current approach is flawed, Lippe says.

He states that when students graduate from law school they don't have marketable skills, and, as such, aren't prepared for the practice of law.

To fix these problems, he suggests that schools offer an accelerated curriculum, teach more about the practice of law, encourage social networking, force deeper inquiry, and continue skills development for students post graduation.

The remedies Lippe suggest are similar to those found in a 2007 study by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

One thing that distinguishes Lippe's argument from the study, however, is his suggestion to move back to what he calls "mission-centered managemen,t" where the mission of law schools should be to serve society, the profession and - get ready for it - its students.

I know that, as a 0L, I am something of an outsider. But as a former journalism student preparing to go into the legal world, it seems to me the problems that law schools face are similar to the ones that journalism schools are facing: do they take an academic, often idealistic, approach and observe/theorize how battles have played or are playing out, or, do they take a practical approach and place their students in the line of fire?

Do they want to turn out scholars who can run circles around others when it comes to legal theory? Or, do they want to turn out attorneys who can go to the mat in the courtroom?

Both approaches in either profession have their benefits and serve unique purposes.

But, for the most part, it appears that law schools have been making the choices for their students on what approach is taken. 

Do you go to HYS or other T14 school? You will be a legal messiah, and the legal gods will smile upon you and bless you with judicial clerkships. Do you go to a more regional school? You are destined for the regional firm trenches.

If schools really wanted to serve their students, the choice of focus should really be in their students' hands. If they want to grow more legal grey matter, build more legal muscle, or try a little bit of both, the school should have programs in place that allows their students to cater a program to their own needs.

Got another idea on how to fix law schools? Let us know in the comment section below!

this year's court clerks, brought to you buy corporate america.

[cynthia]

One might thing it would be a little conflict-y to put deferred (and still salaried) biglaw associates to work in courtrooms. But Legal Blog Watch is reporting that the Massachusetts Judicial Ethics Committee of the Supreme Judicial Court approved the practice last week. The chief administrator of the state's courts appealed to the governing body for permission to hire deferrees as "volunteer interns" while these "interns" remain on the payrolls of biglaw firms. The committee agreed it would be ok, sending images of corporate-sponsored court employees rippling through the heads of the blogosphere.

What makes it ok for these "interns" to be biglaw associates, you ask? Only this gargantuan catch: they must keep their associations secret, in what strikes me as a bit of Fight Club trickery.

"The committee acknowledged that allowing law firms to pay the salaries of judicial law clerks would implicate judicial ethics rules that require judges to avoid impropriety and appear unbiased. The interns' services could also be seen as inappropriate gifts to the judges from the law firms, the committee said. But all this could be circumvented, the committee concluded, if the clerks are forbidden from telling anyone -- even on Facebook or Twitter -- about their connections to their law firms."

Ahso so!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're a deferred associate right now, don't most of your friends know? Your family? Your blog's readers? Are you supposed to un-tell them to get a job with Massachusetts' courts?

Although the judicial ethics committee handed down its approval, despite outrage from members of the legal community, the plan will not go into effect until the State Ethics Commission issues its opinion on the matter. As Legal Blog Watch notes, it could be so long until this happens that "deferrals may well expire before the plan can ever be implemented."

And in other clerkship news, check out this Above the Law item on whether or not $250K signing bonuses for SCOTUS clerks are outrageous in this economy.

a view of the profession, from summer associates' eyes.

[cynthia]

Are you worried about being a good summer associate? Are you worried about what other summer associates think of your "soft skills"? Are you bored as hell at work and want something to "integrity is important" you to sleep? Well! Look no further than the Young Lawyers Blog's Summer Associate Interview series.

In four installments, the somewhat tedious Q&As cover all the predictable territory, but I'm never one to underestimate the power of synergy, so I've collected some highlights below.

1.  Why did you want to become an attorney?
Becoming an attorney was just always something that I wanted to do as a child.  It was always there in the back of my mind. I've always viewed being a lawyer as a respectable profession where you could also make a difference.

2.  What do you think makes a great attorney?
Integrity. Being an attorney requires many traits: dedication, drive, sharp analytical skills, stamina, an ability to think outside the box, to name a few. These traits are, for the most part, common to all attorneys. However, I believe the characteristic that sets the great attorneys apart from the average is integrity.

3.  What do you see is the greatest challenge facing the Class of 2010?
Another challenge is a general feeling that firms can view associates as temporary revenue-generating workhorses. The feeling is that firms sometimes do not view associates as assets who should be able to become partners if both sides keep up their side of the bargain. (An associate puts in the time, works the hours, and learns the craft. In exchange, the firm provides mentoring, training, exposure, experience, and ultimately the ability to join the firm for life). This deal no longer exists. I heard a statistic that 80% of associates leave their first firm within 5 years. Finding a firm where both the associate values the firm, and the firm values the associate, will be a challenge for the class of 2010.

4.  What do you see is the greatest opportunity for the Class of 2010?
I am not convinced that the old model, or the "billable hour" is dead. So long as the class of 2010 is just the one more class, as all of the classes before it, I struggle to think of any real opportunities that are unique to the class.

Any thoughts? Please feel free to weigh in with your answers to these questions in the comments. Non-summer associates welcome!

harvard law offers hand to veterans.

[cynthia foster]

This story's a heartening one: Harvard Law, in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs, is offering full scholarships (covering fees and tuition) to 12 post-9/11 armed forces veterans.

The school is one of the first to seize on the opportunity to send post-9/11 armed forces vets to school through the U.S. government's Yellow Ribbon Program. The Program matches contributions individual schools make to scholarship funds, and was made possible at Harvard by recent Acting Dean Howell Jackson's fundraising efforts.

want to learn some yoga? go to law school.

[julie anne ines]

As a certain Muppet with mad Jedi skills once said, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side.” Apparently, law school is too.

According to Katie Mulvaney of The Providence Journal, lawyers “often take a front-row seat to the dark side of society. They see divorces, crime, families divided over estates. It can make for a taxing life that leads to stress, substance abuse and cynicism.”

But one class at the Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, R.I., aims to bring some balance back to the profession.

David M. Zlotnick, the school’s dean of academic affairs, has designed a class that “incorporates the practice of being mindful, or fully aware, into trial work,” Mulvaney wrote.

And just how does the class do that?

By bringing in actors and yoga instructors to teach students meditation and relaxation techniques that they can use in the courtroom. The ultimate goal of the class is to teach future lawyers to see their clients and fellow law Jedi as more than objects to extract information out of and to crush mercilessly in the courtroom.

Zlotnick says:

“I want (my students) to be able to be trial lawyers in a way where they are more compassionate to themselves and others.”

In other words, he puts back what law school takes out. 

Read the article in its entirety here.

hold your school up to the light: what is it doing for you right now?

[brian lauter]

A couple of weeks ago Northwestern rolled out several programs to help unemployed and deferred 2009 law school graduates.  These Northwestern plans included help with health insurance, loan forbearance, and LLM programs.

The very next day, UCLA followed suit, announcing a new Transition to Practice LLM program designed specifically for unemployed and deferred graduates.

Yesterday, the JD Journal reported that Boston College joined help parade.  The Boston College assistance plan offers a Law School Fellows program, where graduates will be paid to work at the school; a Career Services Partnership Program, which coordinates public interest jobs and stipends for students through the school's career services office; paid research assistantships at the school; and a program for auditing classes.

Also yesterday, ATL reported that Loyola Law School of Chicago announced greatly reduced prices on its LLM programs for its graduates as well as a Graduate Fellowships program which sounds pretty similar to UCLA's new LLM program.

I agree with the many that have argued that these programs are, at least partially, self-serving because they will help the schools' US News rankings.  I also agree that going into an LLM program to escape umemployment is a pretty ridiculous solution.  

The fact is, however, that these schools are putting together viable solutions for their students' economic woes and giving their students several options that will help keep their heads above water.  At least they're doing something for their students

The real question the cynics should be asking is: What are the other 190-plus U.S. law schools doing to help their unemployed and deferred 2009 grads?

More importantly: What is my school doing?

nyu's lemonade turns out to be pretty sour, but that's not all bad.

[cynthia foster]

Good news for deferred associates in New York: sounds like NYU's public interest job fair was a bust. 

The AmLaw Daily is reporting that several non-profits received minimal attention from 3Ls at the fair, suggesting there may be a wide open market for students who have already received news of their deferral to swoop in and snap up these positions before more firms clarify their stipend policies and deferral plans. A commenter on our first item on the NYU fair also indicated that student interest at the fair was pretty low, so get your ambitious self out there before people start panicking enough to really lay the networking on thick at these types of events.

can you afford ucla's llm program? can anyone?

[petra pasternak]

While much has been said about UCLA law school’s souped up LLM program, with the addition of courses to appeal to the deferred and unemployed, we haven’t seen mention of the cost.

With a price tag of $41,000, that’s a good chunk of the stipends being offered to deferred associates, which range from $30,000 to $75,000, for those that get a stipend at all. 

Though the program is geared toward deferred first-year associates and those who have not yet practiced, it’s unclear whether most law firms will go for it as a substitute to public interest or nonprofit work.

Law Dean Michael Schill told us the school is in conversations with firms about the possibility.

“There’s been some enthusiasm about that,” he told us. “It will likely be a firm by firm decision.”

Schill says the LLM program, which already had 55 students enrolled and has been re-opened to give another 20 grads a chance to apply, is not targeting UCLA grads. And he says that in addition to offering one more option to the delayed, it’s one more step the school is taking to make law studies more relevant.

“We’re going to do it for one year and in the future we’ll look at this as an opportunity to experiment with some things, and some elements we’ll keep and some we’ll move into the J.D. program,” he said. 

Some of the new features being introduced include:

* An incubator clinic, where law students will work with business students on start-up companies.

* A bankruptcy course taught by UCLA law professor and attorney Ken Klee (partner at insolvency boutique Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern)

* A choice of five to 10 part-time externships in corporate law departments like Northrop Grumman and Warner Brothers Entertainment.

* A course focused on practical skills like how to start and manage a practice and how to get and deal with clients.

Petra is a Cal Law reporter.

ucla hears call of law school blogosphere/wild, introduces new way to steal tuition from the jobless.

[brian lauter]

Wow.  You know, you write a few blog items a week for a fairly popular law school blog and you're proud of yourself, you know you're important and well-respected, but you never really know the effects your words are having on the world until something like this happens and puts it all in perspective.

Yesterday, I wrote about Northwestern's attempt to help its students cope with job market and I suggested that other law schools should "wake up and start using their institutional power to help students find solutions to their economic troubles."  

Today, just one day after my law school call to arms, WSJ Law Blog is reporting that UCLA has announced that it is creating a new "Transition to Practice" LLM program designed specifically for students who are unemployed or have been deferred.  The program will consist of externships and clinical simulations, giving students the practical knowledge they've been denied for three years of law school.

Wow.  I mean, that's really something.  It's just really humbling to see the profound changes that one's words can create in as little as 24 hours.  Thank you, dear readers.  Thank you for reading, and thank you for being the change I want to see in the world.

the land of opportunity, after all.

[cynthia foster]

On your way out of law school with nary a job in sight?  Here are two options you might not have considered: tournament poker player and JAG Corps captain.