ABA task force recommends reform of legal education
The American Bar Association Task Force on the Future of Legal Education has reported on a number of key problems in with the legal education system in a new working paper, and is mooting reform.
The economics of legal education are ‘deeply flawed’, says the task force, and are driving up tuition costs and student debt. Law school accreditation standards need to be changed to allow more diversity and innovation in law school curricula. Legal education should respond to the industry’s calls for more skills training and experiential learning. And regulatory authorities should devise new ways of licensing professionals for a limited set of legal services, outside the traditional classroom process.
Task force chair Randall T. Shepard said that the task force hopes to issue its final report and recommendations by 20 November, so that it can be placed on the agenda for consideration at the ABA's Midyear Meeting next February in Chicago.