ABA Task Force Seeks Comment on Future of Legal Education
Have any thoughts you’d like to share on the future of legal education? Then an ABA task force that is studying the subject would like to hear from you.
The 19-member Task Force on the Future of Legal Education, created last August by outgoing ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, is examining what concrete steps law schools, the ABA, bar admissions officials and other groups and organizations can take to address compelling issues in the field of legal education.
And the task force, which has split into two subcommittees, is now seeking input from the public.
The subcommittee on the costs and economics of legal education is debating questions (PDF) on what problems are caused or promoted by the costs of a legal education and what plans or actions can be undertaken in the next five years to remedy them.
The subcommittee on the delivery of legal education and its regulation will be deliberating over questions (PDF) on what the functions and goals of U.S. law schools are or should be over the next 25 years and how those functions and goals should affect the missions of individual law schools; the nature and demographics of the students they serve; and the costs and availability of legal services.
Responses to these questions, suggestions and comments can be sent to Art Garwin, the deputy director of the Center for Professional Responsibility at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). The comments the task force receives will be posted on their website.
The task force, which originally planned to present its recommendations to ABA leaders in the spring of 2014, has accelerated the timetable for completing its work by several months. It now aims to produce its final report by next fall.
The task force is also planning a series of open hearings and informational sessions, including one in conjunction with the 2013 ABA Midyear Meeting in Dallas next February. A schedule of upcoming events can be found here.
