Robert I. Reis
(SUNY-Buffalo), Law Schools Under Siege: The Challenge to Enhance Knowledge, Creativity, and Skill Training, 38 Ohio N.U. L. Rev. 855 (2013):

The
Citadel of legal education stands besieged by attacks from students and
practitioners alike regarding the lack of defined skill training in
contemporary legal education. The belief is that graduates of law
schools are not adequately prepared to practice law. This challenge to
the model of legal education is not new. Law schools have historically
focused on theory using readings and questioning to create the
foundation and knowledge base of law and lawyering. That foundation has
been shaken by diminished course requirements and an increase in
attracting students and faculty by giving them the freedom to choose
electives they may desire. At the same time, gaping holes in core
knowledge requirements necessary to practice law may result. Students
are under increasing financial pressures and uncertain futures. They
face a myriad of distractions that affect the learning process and
classroom attendance. Students have limited immersion and are barely
insulated from the distractions of the world around them. Law school
courses can bridge some of these issues if they are configured to engage
the students and bring them back to the classroom in both body and
spirit, as active participants in the learning experience. Law schools
must focus their attention on requiring courses that provide a full and
functional knowledge base necessary for all lawyers. They must, in this
required course paradigm, include clear skill opportunities in courses,
seminars, practicums, clinics, and, as this Article suggests, the newly
formed Law School Law Firm, staffed by academic practitioners and
requiring participation from all students in the final year. The Law
School Law Firm should also provide the possibility of a fourth year of
study, with tuition covered by the earnings of the Law Firm, as well as a
stipend to qualified students who would earn an LL.M. in Practice and
be deemed "certified for practice." This transition can bridge
fluctuations in the market place for employment opportunities and
produce “practice ready” graduates. The future of the law, education,
and practice is clearly what we make of it today.