Two birds with one stone - a bright idea for law grads

This article, written by Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington in Miami, proposes an interesting solution to two problems: the terrible job market faced by recent law school graduates and the fact that millions of Americans need attorneys but cannot afford them. The author proposes that these two problems might neutralise each other if recent graduates offered legal services to America’s middle class. 

Representation of the middle class might not appeal to image conscious law schools and graduates, but the fact is that this kind of work could allow practitioners to earn decent compensation and run successful practices, cutting down on overheads and keeping the majority of their fees, rather than passing them on to a large law firm. 

In order to effect this outcome, law schools would need to change their curricula to provide more practical and clinical legal experience, including courses on operational management. Schools would also need to revise the expectations of their students. And graduates would need ongoing training, mentoring and assistance in the running of their own practices. It sure is food for thought.

Two birds with one stone - a bright idea for law grads law.com Thu, Aug 30, 2012