 Equipping Our Lawyers
Newsletter Issue #1!
 Welcome to Issue #1of the Equipping Our Lawyers newsletter! Sponsored by ALI-ABA and ACLEA, this newsletter
is one of the action platforms growing out of the 2009 ALI-ABA/ACLEA "Equipping Our Lawyers" Summit.
The Summit recommended various ways to improve the legal education and professional development of lawyers.
This newsletter will update you on efforts to implement those Recommendations.
We'll cover all kinds of efforts to strengthen the continuum of legal education--efforts related to
the Recommendations and others
as well. Some of the subjects to be covered include Law School Education and Professional Education,
Bar Admission, Transition Education in the USA, Canada, other English-speaking jurisdictions, development
of competency frameworks and what people are doing with them, CLE and mandatory CLE, distance learning,
in-house training, books, articles and reviews, and website postings.
And we want to maximize our impact and reach by welcoming your comments on all postings. Simply hit
the comment button with each piece and share your ideas with all of us.
— Chuck Bingaman, editor
 Summit Implementation Gaining
Momentum
The ACLEA/ALI-ABA Steering Committee on Summit Implementation met in New York on July 24 to set goals
for implementing the Summit Recommendations. The group, which includes the executive directors of both
oranizations, plans to mobilize Summit attendees and other interested individuals and in an attention
getting, education and persuasion process over the next few years.
For example, we'll be following closely and seeking to support the work of the ABA Section of Legal
Education and Admission to the Bar's Standards Review Committee as it looks at law school accreditation.
We'll also be networking with leaders and groups throughout the legal education and attorney regulation
world to push the Recommendations toward real world reality.
More about specific implementation strategies in coming weeks when details are a bit more set. We'll
keep you posted here—and on the new website—and
we'll provide platforms for you to share your ideas and take active roles in the process.
 ABA Legal Education Section
Continues Working on Updated Law School Approval Criteria
The Standards Review Committee of the ABA Section Legal Education and Admission to the Bar met over
the weekend of July 24-25 in New York City to refine its draft approval criteria. Of most direct interest
to those of us pushing for implementation of the Summit Recommendations, the committee may be moving
toward more "outcomes based" criteria for law school approval as envisioned by the Summit
Recommendations. According to ABA Section committee consultant Becky Stretch, we can follow the committee's
work in detail at http://www.abanet.org/legaled/committees/comstandards.html.
 New Equipping Our Lawyers
Website!
Check www.equippingourlawyers.org and you'll find a
whole new, highly interactive website designed to support and serve our efforts to implement the Summit
Recommendations.
With substantive blog sections for periodic in-depth "Spotlight" article, "Latest News" pieces, and
links to outside resources, you'll now have a starting place for doing your part in the legal education
continuum. Upcoming Spotlights will include an in-depth report on the Georgia Bar Transition Into Practice
Program by Director Doug Ashworth, a tour of the Practical Externship Program of St.
Thomas Law School in St. Paul (MN) by Director Dave Bateson, and details of the New
York Law School/Harvard Law School project on new ideas for law school education by Director Elizabeth
Chambliss.
And you'll find a complete library links to key legal education blogs, research findings, thoughtful
articles and much more!
Check it out today AND register on
the site so you can add your comments to any blog posting, news article, and other piece that interests
you.
Ready to Start You Own Implementation Campaign?
We hope you are! And we've got some specific suggestions for getting started.
Turn to the new website — www.equippingourlawyers.org — and
see the section on Getting Started. Choose the ideas that fit your style and situation. And take step
one. Maybe even step two. And let us know what reactions you get! CCB
And, let us know if you have some additional suggestions for strategic steps related to any of the recommendations.
The Getting Started list is a work in progress—as is the entire implementation program. We'll build
your suggestions into the list!
- Chuck Bingaman, editor
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