Sara Berman (USC) & Chance Meyer (New England), Major Reform With Minor Risk: Implementation of Change Initiatives as a Learning Challenge, 22 U.N.H. L. Rev. 151 (2024):
The call for change in legal education has been loud and clear for more than a century. Despite some resistance among powerholders who benefit from status quo, faculty and administrators across the country work earnestly to solve problems, improve learning, and promote equity. Yet time and again, initiatives are logjammed, shot down as unworkable, misimplemented, or abandoned prematurely when they do not meet unrealistically high expectations for immediate, dramatic results. This article builds on the premises that (1) change is needed, (2) a wide range of sound change ideas for reform and progress are available, and (3) effective implementation of those ideas involves learnable knowledge and skills grounded in proven disciplines of evidence-based practice and change management. Written in two voices, one describing implementation strategies (the how-to) and the other surveying current change ideas (the what and why), this article provides polyphonic guidance and inspiration for law schools to make change happen.
By developing a shared understanding of defined problems traced to specified causes, designing evidence-informed, context-sensitive solutions, and committing to iterating towards continuous improvement, law schools can answer the long-standing call for meaningful change in legal education.
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