Derek Muller (Notre Dame), Are Law Schools Building the Wrong Kind of “Practice Ready” Lawyers?:

For at least half a century, there has been considerable discussion about making law school graduates “practice ready.” But what does that mean? What are schools trying to achieve, and how would we know whether their methods are effective?

Over the last several years, law schools have pursued that goal in two major ways: experiential education and admissions. They have expanded opportunities for practical training and, at least at some institutions, they have emphasized applicants’ previous work experience as a condition for admission. But there are reasons to wonder whether these approaches produce what employers actually want. We may be seeing a divergence between what law schools believe makes lawyers “practice ready” and the revealed preferences of law firms and judges. …

I am increasingly concern[ed] that law schools’ understanding of “practice readiness” does not match what employers are willing to pay for, and we are seeing the early—very early—signs of that mismatch. Before adding more requirements or extending the path into law school, we should ask whether we are building the kind of experience the profession actually needs. And for law schools willing to be proactive, novel development may be in order.

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