Surveys: Thanks to a Weak Job Market, U.S. Law Schools Finally Training Actual Lawyers
U.S. law schools are now trying anything and everything to reduce the ranks of unemployed law grads as the legal economy continues to stall in America. Now it seems that the newest measure is training law students to actually practice law, according to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog:
“Most law schools are responding to the weak legal job marketby bolstering their programs with more practical skills courses, according to a survey by the American Bar Association.
Seventy-six percent of law schools surveyed said they have modified their course offerings to adapt to the job market for lawyers and are trying to incorporate more clinics, simulations and externships, the National Law Journal reported.
‘The survey responses reveal a renewed commitment by law schools to review and revise their curricula to produce practice-ready professionals,’ Hulett “Bucky” Askew, the ABA’s consultant on legal education, told NLJ. ‘The report illuminates the extent to which faculties and administrators have responded to the evolving needs of their students and to changes in the legal services industry.’
The majority of schools — 87% according to the survey — now offer joint degrees, with J.D./M.B.A. being the most common.
This of course begs the question, what exactly have these law schools been teaching if not the actual practice of law? We’d better all hope medical schools aren’t preparing only “theoretical” doctors! And of course, there is still the problem of lawyers having all the skill in the world, but the fact remains that legal jobs are still somewhat scarce in the U.S., so if you’re interested in working abroad, please come see what’s on offer at Law Alliance.
