Elon Law Dean Luke Bierman writes in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Experiential Learning about reinventing legal education to prepare lawyers for success in a world moving rapidly toward 22nd century thought and practice.
Bierman writes in Volume I of the Journal of Experiential Learning, about the purpose of the Second National Symposium on Experiential Education in Law, held at Elon in June 2014, as well as evolving governing principles and modes of social interaction and commerce that point to a need for significant change in legal education.
“As society now evolves in ways vastly different from that experienced in the last century, we have the capacity to reconsider the pedagogies and subjects that will animate our current students as they consider their practices into the 2060s and 2070s,” Bierman writes.
Reflecting on the importance of new approaches to prepare students for the changing dynamics of law practice, Bierman describes Elon Law’s redesigned curriculum.
“At Elon Law, founded as the law school with a difference, the faculty recently has concluded a six month conversation about the curriculum that followed a two year strategic planning process,” Bierman writes. “Identifying competencies and then reverse engineering, the faculty has devised a new curriculum with seven trimesters offering more intense and focused instruction, full time practice requirements with faculty oversight (read residency), and communication instruction in every term, all accomplished in two and a half years with a substantial savings in tuition.”
Bierman also reflects on future changes at Elon Law as the school continues to advance new approaches in legal education.
“Indeed, we are beginning to identify ourselves as more than teachers and scholars and students but as fully integrated members of our local legal and civic community who provide leadership and assistance beyond the traditional service and clinical models,” Bierman writes. “We are thinking about facilities and partners in ways that we would not have considered even a few years ago. Our expectation is that this creative approach will provide us with a much more engaged law school; faculty, staff, students and alumni alike. With this engagement, we expect more and richer opportunities for our faculty, staff, students and alumni to teach and learn experientially, to conduct scholarship and to provide service in partnership with others.”
Touro Law Center Dean Patricia E. Salkin writes in the Journal’s introduction that a 21 Century legal education “demands enhancements to teaching and learning theories across the curriculum beginning with the first day of law school, if not before.”
“Touro Law is pleased to publish this inaugural issue of the Journal of Experiential Learning with contributions from some of the country’s thought leaders in this area including deans, faculty who teach doctrinal, clinical and writing courses, and a member of the judiciary,” Salkin writes. “This issue culminates with concluding remarks by Elon Law School dean Luke Bierman, founder of the Alliance for Experiential Learning in Law. He explains the purpose of convening the Alliance which was to provide a forum for thought and discussion that will continue to lead to new paradigms in legal education.”
The home page for the Touro Law Center Journal of Experiential Learning is available here.
Learn more about Elon Law’s new approach to legal education here.
More information about Luke Bierman is available here.