Copyright 2007 The New Jersey Lawyer, Inc
Copyright 2007 The New Jersey Lawyer, Inc.
New Jersey Lawyer
January 15, 2007
SECTION: Vol. 16, No. 3; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1303 words
HEADLINE: As Harvard goes, others ambivalent
BYLINE: By Kris W. Scibiorski; Comments about this story may be sent to kris.scibiorski@.
BODY:
Last fall, Harvard and Stanford -- two of the biggest names in American legal education -- announced what they've trumpeted as sweeping revisions to their J.D. curricula.
So, will these changes be embraced by the rest of the law school world? In New Jersey, at least, the answer is decidedly mixed.
Leaders at the Seton Hall and the two Rutgers law schools say some of the "changes" have been around for years, while other revamps represent shifts that either are unneeded or unwanted.
Still, it remains to be seen if many law schools nationwide eventually join in lockstep behind Harvard's remodeling -- as occurred in the legal world more than a century ago.
Leadership in legal academia comes easily to Harvard. After all, the last time the school altered its program in the late 1800s, it created the all-too-familiar common law, case-centered first-year curriculum that to this day haunts aspiring lawyers from sea to sea.
However, the school's most-recent changes have substantially altered that first-year design, adding new requirements in legislative and regulatory law, comparative law and problem-solving, alongside the now de-emphasized common-law standbys.
"Harvard leads and people take notice," said Seton Hall Law School's associate dean for curricular affairs, John "Kip" Cornwell. "The shift is meant to reflect the changes that have occurred in legal practice over the last 10 to 15 years."
But beyond the predictable publicity Harvard is getting, just how much of what's transpiring there is novel?
"Harvard's greater emphasis on non-common law subjects such as legislation, regulation and international law is not conceptually new," said Rutgers Law School-Newark's associate dean for faculty, Professor Bernard W. Bell. "However, I applaud [their] effort to incorporate the importance of the administrative state into the curriculum."
Rutgers Law School-Camden Dean Rayman L. Solomon is less convinced of the need for such changes.
"Generally, the problem at law school is not the first year but the second and third years," he said. "So, to some extent, the sentiment here is: Why change the thing that already works."
Harvard previously revised its upper-class curriculum, creating five distinct programs of study that concentrate on broadly designated aspects of the law.
"There is no doubt the changes we have pursued -- notably, the emphasis on problem-solving alongside advocacy, and the introduction early on to legislative and administrative materials, would be relevant at least to some degree to all law schools," said professor Martha L. Minow, who chaired Harvard's curriculum initiative.
She added that numerous law schools have contacted the Ivy League school about its reforms and view the initiative as encouragement for implementing their own changes.
Rutgers-Newark's Bell, however, said the revisions to the first-year curriculum are "more of an accomplishment in terms of school politics" than an educational breakthrough.
For example, he said, the Newark school has long offered first-year elective courses in areas such as legislative law, alternative dispute resolution and fact investigation -- which overlap much of the new Harvard requirements.
Seton Hall's Cornwell also believes the same issues are being addressed without altering the traditional entry program. "Right now, we are not looking to change the first-year curriculum," he said.
He argues that the increasingly global and interdisciplinary nature of legal practice and the shift to alternative dispute resolution and administrative law are covered in "highly recommended courses" most students take during their second or third years.
Stanford
The reforms at Stanford maintain the traditional structure of the first-year experience, but completely overhaul the remainder of the curriculum.
Dean Larry D. Kramer envisions a new approach to what frequently has been viewed as a too-long slog toward the sheepskin. Kramer's recently approved plan has a bevy of new dual-degree, multi-disciplinary and clinical programs, all conducted on a quarterly schedule at the California school.
In Camden, Solomon said that to some extent, Stanford's revisions to the second- and third-year curriculum are an example of a trend at law schools for some time -- practical-based instruction in what long had been a theoretically oriented focus.
There is nothing new in law schools moving toward "more experientially framed" law courses, he said.
In fact, that trend, Solomon noted, has been a growing force at law schools more than over 30 years.
"This is simply a continuation of that change."
Bell noted that Kramer's stress on clinical exposure is what the American Bar Association has highlighted in its recommendations to all law schools.
"The ABA recently adopted an enhanced professional skills requirement that says we have to make sure students take advantage of clinical opportunities," Bell said.
Solomon echoed that assessment, pointing to an 80 percent to 85 percent participation rate in skills education programs such as clinics, simulations and various pro bono activities among his students.
Seton Hall, partially in light of the ABA recommendations and partially in recognition of the changing times, is stressing "skills training."
Cornwell said approximately 30 percent of students there satisfy the school's upper-class trial practice requirement through work at a legal clinic. The rest, he said, participate in small-section civil or criminal practice simulation classes taught by judges and attorneys. The courses, he said, combine academic work and role playing, culminating in a mock trial.
Regarding the highly interdisciplinary vision of the second and third years of law school, Bell isn't convinced Rutgers-Newark students and faculty feel that it's a necessity.
"As far as a real clamoring for an interdisciplinary approach -- I don't see that being the case."
Cornwell also noted that most law schools, including his, are hesitant to give academic credit for work done outside the school. "In order to give a well-rounded introduction to the law, we need the students to get the 85 credits they're required to get at the law school," he said, adding, "We only have so much time here."
Rutgers-Newark's Bell also underplayed the likelihood of a move toward a quarter schedule at Rutgers-Newark. "I don't anticipate that happening here," he said, citing institutional issues and a level of satisfaction with the way things are currently done.
What's next?
Bell said the most-pressing needs of legal education nationwide involve a continuing overemphasis on case law over administrative and legislative procedures, a need for more exposure to international and foreign law, and a need to continuously improve clinical and practical skills courses and opportunities.
"In general, I think law schools serve the students reasonably well," he said. "We want to give a well-rounded education and provide some opportunity for focused studies but, in the end, a lot of details about different parts of practice are picked up at the firms."
Cornwell sees the continuing expansion and refinement of practical training as the largest trend in legal academia. "The ABA stand is a reflection of the fact that law schools need to take skills seriously," said the Seton Hall administrator.
Solomon said that as part of the ABA re-certification process, Rutgers-Camden has been going through a thorough self-study. He said the faculty will review all suggestion for changes to the curriculum but declined to speculate about their specific nature.
"Personally, I would change some things," but he cautioned that when it comes to academic curriculum revisions, the changes often pale in comparison to the rhetoric and emotions.
GRAPHIC: Photo 1, Bernard W. Bell; Photo 2, John "Kip" Cornwell
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