| In response to my previous article, "Does Law School | | | | run a departmental team within a corporation? And, |
| Prepare You to Practice Law? Part 1", Denis Campbell | | | | after studying finance, accounting, marketing, sales, and |
| put forth the anti-practice teaching argument: | | | | human resources in detail, I believe the answer is "yes." |
| "This opens an important debate about the purpose of | | | | An accounting degree may not make you a skilled |
| schooling. An MBA does not prepare one to lead a | | | | auditor, but it will allow you to effectively evaluate |
| corporation. An MS in Accounting does not a skilled | | | | income statements, complete tax returns, and |
| auditor or tax advisor make. An MA does not prepare | | | | understand and maintain the finances of a company to |
| a writer to win a Pulitzer Prize. What higher education | | | | work effectively in a junior position right away. Also, |
| is supposed to do is teach one how to think and | | | | MFA programs in writing do little else but teach |
| rationalise one's way through problems." | | | | students to write. Many talented students have |
| However, another commenter, Matthew Homann, | | | | graduated from the famous University of Iowa writing |
| contended: | | | | program with a completed novel and a publishing deal. |
| "In my view, the only people who don't realize law | | | | Law students are not asking for law schools to |
| schools are trade schools are the Professors and | | | | prepare them to sit first chair in an antitrust trial upon |
| Deans. Law schools don't teach students to do 1/10th | | | | graduation, or to be ready to draft and negotiate a one |
| of the kind of things people expect every lawyer to be | | | | hundred million dollar outsourcing transaction. They |
| able to do.... I think law schools can do a decent job of | | | | would, however, like to be able to draft a |
| preparing students for litigation - which would be great | | | | straightforward confidentiality agreement, handle simple |
| if any actually got to try cases." | | | | sales deals, and understand basic negotiation |
| Personally, I wouldn't have any objection to Denis | | | | techniques. Better yet, all of these practice skills can be |
| Campbell's point above if students were given a | | | | easily taught along with cutting edge legal scholarship |
| choice as to which educational model they preferred. | | | | focusing on theory. As noted in the previous post here: |
| Sadly, the American Bar Association ("ABA") only | | | | "What I find most interesting about this yawning divide |
| accredits law schools that follow the model of | | | | between academia and practice, is that, for the life of |
| teaching one to "think like a lawyer," while wholly | | | | me, I can't understand why this needs to be the case. |
| rejecting other schools, such as online educators, that | | | | If you are a professor focused on the empirical legal |
| offer a different approach. | | | | studies movement, why can't you teach actual |
| In the United States, if the ABA and state bar | | | | practice skills in the context of your research? If you |
| associations did not create an artificially biased | | | | write about discourse analysis, why can't you analyze |
| marketplace in favor of one educational model over all | | | | a contract negotiation? If you are an economics and |
| others by only accrediting "think like a lawyer" law | | | | the law scholar, why can't you instruct students on the |
| schools, and the Denis Campbell Law School, for | | | | economic administration of law firms and explore the |
| instance, could openly compete with the Matthew | | | | nature of perverse incentives?" |
| Homann School of Law, then it would be up to | | | | I'm surprised to find the issue so controversial. Perhaps |
| advocates of the "think like a lawyer" approach to | | | | there is tremendous concern about change, particularly |
| prove that students want that method of teaching... or | | | | so for law professors with little to no practice |
| they would go under. Right now, students are forced | | | | experience. I remember my torts class, the very first |
| by the ABA accreditation process and the state bar | | | | class I had in law school. Our professor had a law |
| associations to only attend law schools that, for the | | | | degree and doctoral degree in philosophy, and was |
| most part, only teach to "think like a lawyer" instead of | | | | quite fascinating to talk to about postmodernism and |
| how to actually perform like one. If accreditation | | | | legal philosophy. I felt quite enriched to have a |
| weren't so difficult (e.g., requiring millions to be spent on | | | | professor injecting these kinds of theories into tort law, |
| a paper based library when most lawyers do 99% of | | | | and in no way would want to excise that theoretical |
| their research electronically), you would see a wide | | | | approach. At the same time, my fellow students were |
| variety of law schools popping up, and, out of that | | | | continually frustrated that he could not explain how a |
| competition, I think you would find the most prestigious | | | | case could be initiated and would play out. Upon |
| and popular schools to be ones that marry theoretical | | | | hearing these concerns, the professor reacted with |
| teaching with the practice arena. | | | | equal frustration, stating that such questions were not |
| Additionally, to argue that because an MBA does not | | | | particularly important in his mind. |
| prepare you immediately to be the chief executive | | | | There has to be a better approach, a third way, and |
| officer of a large corporation, law schools should not | | | | the marriage of theory and practice offers that path. |
| teach practice skills, is not an effective defense of the | | | | Ultimately, it need not be a zero sum game: we can |
| current state of legal education. Instead, it might be | | | | have both. |
| better to ask: does an MBA immediately allow you to | | | | |