It’s not your parents’ legal education anymore. To lawyers who came of age in days of yore, legal education today would be almost unrecognizable. True, students still learn how to analyze appellate opinions, and at some schools, still survive the socratic method. But at Golden Gate University and an increasing number of other schools, legal education consists of multiple opportunities to intertwine theory and practice; build oral and written communication skills, learn the values of the profession and shape professional identity, both in and beyond the classroom.

But do these pedagogical innovations make law students any happier today than the socratic method made their forebears? We all know the perils of our profession: Compared to other professionals, lawyers have higher rates of depression and are more likely to develop heart disease, alcoholism and drug abuse. Law students are not immune. According to one study, 44 percent of law students around the country meet the criteria for clinically significant levels of psychological distress.

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