The foundation of modern legal education dates to the late 1800s, when Christopher Columbus Langdell introduced the case method as dean of Harvard Law School. Law schools have tweaked their curriculum models since then. Clinics gained in popularity during the 1970s, and some law schools now take a more interdisciplinary approach. Still, “innovation” is not a term often applied to law schools. Lawyers are by nature risk-averse, and legal education has been relatively slow to change when compared with other professional programs.
That said, the pressure for change will not be denied. Comprehensive reports issued in recent years have faulted legal education for doing too little to teach ethics and professionalism. More importantly, the changing legal marketplace is putting pressure on schools to update their curricula and better prepare students to actually practice law. Students and prospective students are more savvy than ever about the cost of attending law school and are better informed about their post-graduation employment prospects. The American Bar Association, meanwhile, is revamping its accreditation standards to require schools to lay out what they aim to teach students.
