From left: John Marshall Law School Dean Darby Dickerson and New York Law School Dean Anthony Crowell

Can an online law school class approximate the experience of being a summer associate at a law firm? We'll soon find out.

At least two campuses have launched summer programs designed to help students develop the real-world skills they would normally pick up working at law firms or in internships, as many of those training opportunities have evaporated amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York Law School has partnered with Venable for its eight-week Summer Associate Simulation Program, which is modeled after the summer associate experience at a large law firm. The 200 enrolled students have been placed into "practice groups," are attending online classes, and will work on simulated legal matters tied to the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, the University of Illinois at Chicago John Marshall Law School just kicked off a 10-week Summer Associate Training Academy for students and recent graduates that incorporates simulated legal matters and gives participants the opportunity to get feedback from attorneys and judges on a drafting assignment.

Both programs are intended to help fill the summer training gaps left by shortened or cancelled summer associate programs and internships, and those moved entirely online. A handful of large law firms have cancelled their summer associate programs outright citing COVID-19, while many more have whittled them from 10 weeks down to five weeks. The remaining programs will primarily happen virtually.

"This class—and the next two—face really difficult circumstances," said James Leipold, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement. "They'll face a tough job market, but they'll also face a skills gap because all of the ways that people get experience over the summer are compromised. Anything schools, employers or bar associations do to provide practical, hands-on active learning is great. Do they entirely replace a summer associate position or a summer internship with a federal government agency? No. But are they way better than nothing? Yes."

One major difference with the school-run programs, however, is that there will be no job offer awaiting participants at the end of the summer. Traditionally, nearly all summer associates at large firms receive offers to come onboard as an associate after graduation, though it remains to be seen whether associate offer rates decline this year as firms prepare for a pandemic-induced slowdown in work. (Neither New York Law School or UIC John Marshall are traditional Big Law feeder schools—they did not rank among the 50 schools with the highest percentage of 2019 graduates going to the largest 100 firms, according to Law.com's 2020 Go-To Law Schools hiring report.) But Leipold said having practice skills training on their resumés will make participants in programs like these more marketable upon graduation. Venable partner Michael Volpe, who is spearheading New York Law School's program alongside dean Anthony Crowell, agrees.

"From an employer's perceptive, having this on your resume—working successfully on these different areas of law while at the same time managing the day-to-to ins and outs on a remote basis—I think, will make these folks particularly well suited for employers at larger law firms as they turn to a changing business model," Volpe said.

New York Law School's program kicked off Wednesday with 200 students who are earning academic credit for participating. (Demand outstripped the 120 seats that the school originally planned for, according to Crowell.) Alumni sponsors are covering their tuition for the class. Like summer associates at law firms, students have been divided into practice groups—in this case, litigation, corporate affairs and government affairs and policy. The approximately 70 students in each practice area have been further divided into groups of 10 that are supervised by a practicing attorney. The students participate in "staff meetings" to simulate working with partners and senior associates and are required to produce memos, client letters, motions and other documents that traditional summer associates would work on. Each of their simulated legal matters pertain to the coronavirus, be it employment matters, data privacy or public health law. Wednesday's orientation included three law firm associates sharing their experiences and advice on navigating the law firm world as a young attorney, as well as an overview of law firm billing. Future sessions will address legal technology and leadership, in addition to substantive law.

"We're presenting opportunities for students to understand how their world will be transformed as a result of [COVID-19] for the next few years, and we want them to be ready for it," Crowell said.

The Summer Associate Training Academy at UIC John Marshall is taking a slightly different tack. The 100 participating students won't earn academic credit for participating in the program, which is free and open to recent graduates as well as current students. But they are meeting online weekly for lectures and guest speakers, and they must complete two writing assignments over the course of the 10 weeks. They will also complete online simulations in which they are summer associates receiving assignments from a partner and interacting with their supervisors. Dean Darby Dickerson, who conceived of the academy, said it could become a regular, for-credit summer class if there continues to be student demand.

"I want them to leave with knowledge and some skills that I think they would have been more likely to pick up had they been in a summer associate or law clerk position, and could walk the halls and talk to people," Dickerson said. "There are things you pick up from interacting with people. So I'm trying to fill those gaps."