Issue #11 of Equipping Our Lawyers eNewsletter

Editor's Note: NALP--The Association for Legal Career Professionals grabs top billing in this issue with two major contributions to the discussion of ways to strengthen the continuum of legal education. See below!

In other Equipping Our Lawyers news, new Spotlight feature profiles Washington & Lee School of Law's innovative new third year program on www.equippingourlawyers.org. A mix of practice-oriented projects and practice-focused electives, W&L's new third year plan is moving along lines suggested by the Summit Recommendations.

Remember to follow us on Twitter at @equippinglawyers

- Chuck Bingaman, Editor

NALP Discussion Highlights 2011 Lawyer Hiring, Training Developments

It's all up for grabs... but some real progress is at hand.

That's the bottom line of a fascinating 5th Roundtable on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development and Advancement sponsored on April 11 at UCLA Law School by NALP and the NALP Foundation.

Whether it's law school curriculum expansion/reconstruction, new ideas on clinical training and externships, or the explosion of valuable work on defining competency skills, much of it is positive. While we have not yet reached the "new normal" there is much to be encouraged--and challenged by-- in the 2011 legal education/hiring/training world. NALP makes the whole transcript available--a terrific contribution to the profession--at www.nalp.org/apr11futureoflawyerhiring.

Ed. Note: This is a distinguished group of panelists, well-prepared and well-led by moderators Tammy Patterson and Jim Leipold. - CCB

New Lawyers Sound Off on Law Schools' Practice-Oriented Offerings... and The News Is Mixed

Everybody is talking about the need for and value of skills training in law school, but NALP has done something about it. Their 2010 online survey of employers of young lawyers generated 930 responses focused on young lawyers’ thoughts on their practice-oriented law school activities.

Vermont Announces TWO New Online-Only LLMs

Vermont Law School announced last week the launching of two new LLM programs, one on environmental law and one on environmental law and policy, to be offered solely online. It joins a growing number of American law schools offering masters programs solely online, including NYU's long-respected LLM in taxation and courses from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, Southwestern University School of Law and others. For details straight from the Green Mountain state, see www.vermontlaw.edu.

Ed. Note: MCLE regulators and bar association planners are discussing accrediting additional hours of online training. If entire law school masters courses are successful online, perhaps pressure will--or at least should--build to allow more mandatory CLE credits from online courses.- CCB

Law School Teaching Technique of the Future? "Apps for Justice"?

No, that's not a word processing error! It's the name of the winning approach to improving law school education that came out of last month's final session of FutureEd, the year-long project to unearth and evaluate new law school curriculum approaches.

Harvard and New York Law Schools sponsored the sessions last summer, last fall and in April, at which legal educators from far and near gathered to develop and compare new ideas and to identify those with the most potential.

"Apps for Justice" was submitted by a team of educators and business people led by Prof. Ron Staudt of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. The idea is that law students would learn about technology and substantive law by creating software applications that walk users through legal scenarios or offer other legal support, while lawyers and the public would benefit from resulting online resources that would improve access to justice for everyone.

Another proposal would create a network of law schools that share online games and simulations that teach law and engage students.

New York Law School Dean Richard Matasar praised the innovative ideas and enthusiasm but cautioned that almost all of the ideas advanced would do little to reduce the cost of legal education. For complete information on the FutureEd ideas, see www.nyls.edu/news_and_events/future_ed_winners.

Ed. Note: As much as we applaud this impressive, year-long effort to identify potential improvements in law school curricula, we do hope that participants have and will continue to keep in mind the essential Summit Recommendation that reformed curricula need to become more outcome-based. That is, reforms need to visualize and express clear, skills- oriented outcomes as the appropriate measures of curriculum innovations as suggested by Summit Recommendations #1-3. Further, as noted by Dean Matasar, curriculum reformers simply have to address the growing bubble of law graduate and law student debt, a bubble based on the high cost of a JD that cannot long sustain itself. Unless the law school world can solve this problem in the near future, that bubble could well burst and cause law school enrollments to decline precipitously, damaging many law schools and leaving law school populations limited to those of generous means. -CCB

Keeping Up With the Law Practice World... and Lawyers' Education Needs

Reprinted with permission from The Edge, the newsletter of Edge International and consultant Jordan Furlong, here are links to ten blogs and ten Twitter feeds from lawyers, academics, journalists, and consultants that track the latest trends in the legal market and Furlong's brief comments on them. Says Furlong, "Read these 20 dispatches and you'll be fully informed about what's happening, and what will happen, to the legal services landscape."

Blogs

3 Geeks and a Law Blog: Toby Brown, Greg Lambert, and Lisa Salazar write maybe the best legal innovation blog now in operation.

Above The Law: You don't have to like it, but don't underestimate its power or its growing prestige as a bellwether of change in large firms and law schools.

Adam Smith Esq.: New York's Bruce MacEwen delivers a rare combination of sublime writing and strategic guidance for large law firms.

Legal Futures: Neil Rose's website has a blog, but the whole site is a must-read for the latest developments in the most important legal laboratory: London.

Law Department Management: Rees Morrison's blog is the deepest collection of data and insights on in-house law departments available anywhere.

LPO Source: Produced by legal process outsourcing provider Fronterion, this blog captures the latest news about the rising LPO wave.

Strategic Legal Technology: Ron Friedmann writes about offshoring and commoditization, taking the pulse on the legal workflow revolution.

The Belly of the Beast: Former Kirkland & Ellis partner and current adjunct professor at Northwestern Law School Steven Harper writes provocatively about BigLaw.

The Posse List: If you want to understand the rapidly emerging temporary and contract legal talent wave, this is where you need to start.

The Wired GC: John Wallbillich brings another (former) GC perspective to his ongoing deconstruction of the inside-outside counsel relationship.

And here are four more must-read blogs, from the partners of Edge International:

Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices: Edge International co-founder Gerry Riskin foresaw the economic crisis back in 2007 and continues to monitor the profession for major change.

Ed Wesemann: One of the world's foremost legal consultants regularly publishes his sharp-eyed assessments and practical insights for law firm leaders.

At The Intersection: Pamela H. Woldow writes about general counsel, legal project management, alternative fee arrangements and the rising tide of change.

Law21: Dispatches from a Legal Profession on the Brink: Jordan Furlong's award-winning blog analyzes the extraordinary upheaval in the legal profession.

Twitter accounts

In addition to the Twitter accounts attached to the foregoing blogs, here are some more that Furlong recommends.

[Note that, to call up any of these Twitter feeds, one must enter them as www.Twitter.com/@________.- CCB]

@ABAJournal: Updates and links from the ABA Journal.

@AmLawDaily: News bulletins from The American Lawyer.

@eicdocket: Updates from Kim Howard, Editor-in-Chief of the ACC Docket.

@jasnwilsn: Analyses of the legal publishing industry from legal publisher Jason Wilson.

@KrebsatACC: President of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

@LawyerCatrin: Editor of Britain's The Lawyer newspaper.

@ronaldbaker: Founder of the Verasage Institute and crusader against the billable hour.

@StephenMayson: Director and professor of strategy at London's Legal Services Institute

@VMaryAbraham: Knowledge manager and counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York.

@ValoremLamb: Trial lawyer and co-founder of Chicago's Valorem Law Firm.

Furlong adds, “You might not agree with the sentiments and perspectives expressed in some of these blogs or Twitter streams. But it absolutely will be worth your time to stay fully aware of what they have to say.” For more about Edge International, see www.edge.ai.