NY State Bar Assn pushes for more practical legal education

According to the New York State Bar Association, US legal education puts too much emphasis in theoretical knowledge and does not equip lawyers with the practical skills needed for work in the profession. The Association raised the issue at an American Bar Association meeting in Toronto, and presented the ABA with a resolution calling for a reevaluation of legal education standards with a view to “enhancing clinical work and supervised activities such as meeting with clients inside and outside the clinical setting and in court.” “Legal education should have more of an emphasis on making sure graduates are ready to practice law,” New York State Bar President Vincent E. Doyle III said. “It is something that has been de-emphasized, and it shows. Our research and our own experience show that graduates are less prepared to practice law.”

NY State Bar Assn pushes for more practical legal education blogs.wsj.com Mon, Aug 8, 2011