Do Law Schools Really Teach Lawyers How to Be Lawyers?
An opinion piece in The National Law Journal by a third-year law student echoes what I’ve been saying for years: law schools are great at teaching their students how to think like lawyers, but fail miserably at teaching them how to actually be lawyers.
The article comments on the ABA’s Standards Review Committee’s proposal to require law schools to provide greater transparency when it comes to providing a clear picture of the value of a law degree. The author argues that many law schools paint a far rosier picture than what the cold reality is once law school graduates hit the streets looking for work. He writes:
"The ABA's proposal is an adaptation of performance measurement — a management technique often used to transform private and public organizations. At its core, performance measurement is about using data to demand accountability and drive innovation.
"For the first time, law schools would have a potent incentive to reduce tuition and accelerate the so-far glacial movement to incorporate practical skills into legal education. By accurately measuring employment outcomes, schools will for the first time confront an unambiguous basis for evaluating their activities. And schools that perform poorly on the measure of job placement will face increased pressure to re-evaluate their educational model."
I have been teaching law firm marketing and business management to attorneys for years through state and local bar associations and our own Rainmaker Institute programs, including the Rainmaker Retreat. In a vast majority of these sessions, at least one attorney will always ask me why they don’t teach these principles in law school.
Apparently, more and more attorneys are finding their voices when it comes to demanding more of the legal academy, which they accuse of being disconnected from the actual practice of law. With crushing debt loads, more and more law school graduates are finding it difficult at best to “learn on the job” what they actually need to know to start and sustain a successful legal career.
Where is your voice on this issue? I’d be interested in hearing your comments.
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I couldn't agree more. I received an excellent legal education and have no complaints about it. However, while I did receive very good training in how to think, act and write like a lawyer, what I don't remember much emphasis being placed on in law school are the skills necessary to not only run and market a law practice, but also to speak with clients using empathy, reflective listening, and a collaborative approach to problem-solving. Our failure to utilize these skills can leave clients feeling alienated,ignored,angry, and more prone to file bar grievances against us.
Lawyers are not merely "hired guns" or "experts" - we're also "counselors" at law. I did not truly learn this until I had left the full-time practice of law to pursue another advanced degree and licensure in the field of mental health counseling. Becoming competent as a counselor entails mastery of the skills I've noted above. These are the skills which when utilized can improve client relations by helping clients to feel heard and understood, and for this reason law schools should teach them.
It also seems to me that there is too little focus in law school on self-care. We can't function well as counselors or advocates for our clients if we ourselves are physically, mentally or spiritually depleted. Practicing law is hard work and in order to feel fulfilled we must learn to find balance between that portion of our lives we spend as lawyers and the other equally important parts, like family life, friends, hobbies, spirituality and relaxation. It is evident to me from the number of attorneys I see with mood,anxiety, relationship and substance abuse problems that a small but significant percentage of the legal profession doesn't see or ignores the connection between self-care and professional competence, and professional satisfaction. While my state's CLE ethics requirement includes mental illness and substance abuse awareness, this awareness needs to be developed beginning with the law school experience.