Since in so much I have written I have taken quotes from the ABA’s MacCrate Report and one issued by the Mass School of Law, both in 1992, I decided to publish (in three parts) a handout I distributed at a panel I moderated for the National Lawyers Guild in…
When the U.S. News & World Report issued its ranking of law schools in March, 1990, I drafted a letter criticizing one major defect in its analysis; i.e., failing to include as a criterion the extent to which the law school ensures that its graduates fulfill the legal profession’s obligation…
I recently read about the gathering of law students from a number of law schools that are difficult to get into who have joined together to form Building a Better Legal Profession, (BBLP) which, according to its mission state, is “a national grassroots movement that seeks market-based workplace reforms in…
The background of this letter is that there are seven states which permit apprenticeship (working for a lawyer and studying the law) as a road to becoming a lawyer there. The states are Vermont, New York, Washington, Virginia, California, Maine and Wyoming. A few years ago as Massachusetts considered buying…
For many years I have taken excerpts and quotes from the powerful devastating criticism of legal education called The MacCrate Report. The official name for it is Legal Education and Professional Development – An Educational Continuum, Report of The Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession: Narrowing the Gap,…
With all that is happening today, I thought back to an article I wrote shortly after the August, 1997, release of the Boston Bar Association’s (BBA) Report of Professional Fulfillment and the subsequent press conference. I wonder to what extent the article describes the current state of the legal profession in Boston and nationally.…
Here’s excerpts from a message I sent last December responding to a CNNMoney.com article about the difficulty law school graduates are having finding a job. Hi Jessica Dickler, As you read what I have written, consider that for decades the percentage of those who are dissatisfied with their careers in the law…
What has been a consistent ingredient of my 25 years advising lawyers is the continuing and lasting effect of the failure of legal education to prepare law students for the practice of law – a lack of self-confidence and its companion, a lack of self-worth. That is one of the…
Below are excerpts from a Memorandum which I sent last year to the Professor at Stanford Law School who was heading up the search committee for an Executive Director for its Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest. _______________________ (O)ver the last 44 years since I graduated law school…
President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington DC 20500 January 1, 2011 Dear President Obama, We all knew it was coming! On December 3, 2008, an article appeared in CNNMoney.com “Verdict is in: Legal job market tightens” The article said “Employment opportunities for legal professionals have traditionally…