Elon Law Professor Peter Hoffman's article, "Law Schools and the Changing Face of Practice," was recently published in the New York Law School Law Review.
The article explores the history of skills training in law schools, recent changes in the practice of law and approaches to improve skills training and clinical legal education at law schools.
“Law schools have made remarkable progress in incorporating clinical and skills courses into the curriculum, and it is likely that more progress will be made in the near future,” Hoffman writes. “Legal education has shifted away from the sterile, lifeless science of the law envisioned by Langdell and appears to be taking seriously its obligation to prepare students for the practice of law. Today’s problem is that the clinical and skills courses are failing to adapt to the many changes occurring in the practice of law. It should not be difficult for us, as legal educators, to remedy this problem, but it requires us to be aware of the existence of the problem and to take the necessary steps to bring our courses into the present to reflect how law is actually being practiced.”
Published in Volume 56, Issue 2 (2011-’12) of the New York Law School Law Review, the issue features 12 articles originally presented at an October 2010 conference honoring the 25th anniversary of New York Law School’s Clinical Theory Workshops.
Click here for the New York Law School Law Review website, where Hoffman’s article is available to download in full.
Hoffman is Professor of Law and Director of Skills Programs at Elon Law. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on trial advocacy, depositions, and evidence. Click here for details.