Wall Street Journal Law Blog: Berkeley Calls for Research into LSAT Alternative; Testing for Empathy?, by Dan Slater:

Former Berkeley law prof Marjorie Shultz … thinks they can do better, reports the Recorder. Shultz and Berkeley psychology prof Sheldon Zedeck have been studying alternatives to the LSAT. They recently published their findings in a 100-page report. They say the LSAT, with its focus on cognitive skills, does not measure for skills such as creativity, negotiation, problem-solving or stress management, but that they have found promising new and existing tests from the employment context that do.

On Monday, Berkeley law Dean Christopher Edley posted a message to a listserv for deans at ABA-accredited law schools highlighting some of the findings, and asking for support in building a case to expand the project. …

We “need lawyers with the kind of skill sets that the world needs — like empathy, persuasiveness and the willingness to have the courage to do the right thing — which the LSAT does not measure,” said Jeffrey Brand, dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law.

The ABA Journal has more here.